PERHAPS after 16 months' absence from the Hong Kong hurly-burly, former Governor, now author Chris Patten thought people would have forgotten him. Perhaps he thought the economic downturn would have focused minds on concerns other than buying his book, East And West, and getting his signature. Perhaps he had underestimated the McSnoopy-style fad for collecting anything that might become remotely valuable. Or perhaps he had himself forgotten the affection and admiration people felt for him.
Whatever he thought, he was wrong.
'It's Patten-mania, isn't it?' said one customer cheerfully as he exited the Hong Kong Book Centre crush in Central on Thursday morning, a signed book safely tucked in his bag, the several hundredth of 700 autograph-hunters snaking their way through narrow alleys between tall shelves. And this reporter, slightly taken aback by the stealing of a journalist's usually sensationalist phrase, had to agree.
It was media-mad, certainly, but it was not a media-orchestrated event. Many reporters and photographers were as surprised as Mr Patten was to see the thousands of people standing in line, in some cases for up to six hours and in at least one case for 10, to see him, shake his hand, get their photos taken beside him and gain that all-important signature, 'Chris Patten', written fast but clearly in bold black ink from his ever-flowing fountain pen.
Some in the queue were not interested in reading the book, merely in collecting the signature. But for many, the message was clear. A chorus of 'come back, come back' greeted his arrival at one shop. 'We miss you' was a familiar phrase, while 'democracy' fell from many people's lips. Time and again, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa came off worse in comparison.
'He was the last Governor of Hong Kong and I want to acknowledge what he has done for Hong Kong,' said Joseph Choi, who had waited more than two hours at Swindon Book Company in Tsim Sha Tsui on Friday. And what had he done? 'Drive democracy.' 'I would like the Chief Executive to have his knowledge of how to govern Hong Kong,' said Emmy Ho. So he is better than Mr Tung? 'Certainly.' 'He stood up for what he believed in,' said Indian-born, 20-year Hong Kong resident Ibahun Fernando in the Hong Kong Book Centre in Central on Thursday. Yes, that had caused trouble with China, 'but you can't stand up for what you believe in and not cause trouble anywhere in the world'.