Chris Patten accepts umbrella, and reportedly praises democracy protesters
City's last governor is handed symbol of protest and reportedly praises occupiers
Hong Kong's last governor Chris Patten has become the latest apparent convert to the "umbrella movement" in support of the pro-democracy protests.
Now chancellor of the University of Oxford, the man known affectionately during his time in Hong Kong as "Fei Pang" or "Fatty Patten" because of his love of custard tarts spoke on Friday at the Oxford Union debating society and was offered an umbrella by a participant.
"I can finally be photographed holding an umbrella just like President Xi Jinping ," Patten reportedly said, according to a tweet by Oxford China Forum. The forum is a student platform facilitating discussion of China issues.
He was referring to a photograph of Xi with an umbrella during his trip to Wuhan , Hubei province, in July last year. The photo, taken by Xinhua, was recognised in the National News Awards last month.
Coinciding as it did with the "umbrella movement", the photo went viral along with numerous parodies created by protesters.
The forum further tweeted that Patten was "really impressed by the dignity, decency and seriousness of the protesters" and said "their mums and dads should be very proud".