FORMER Governor Chris Patten ended his four-day promotional tour of Hong Kong yesterday with sales of his book hitting 40,000 in the SAR. But Mr Patten also had to face angry protesters who reminded him of his failed temporary housing policy. Mr Patten visited Island School - which his youngest daughter Alice attended - for a book-signing in the morning. About 10 protesters approached him outside the school to tell him they had been left in temporary housing areas after 1997, despite his promise to resettle them. 'He is out of government but his policy is still in place so he is responsible,' one said. Mr Patten replied that the matter was out of his hands but that he would pass on their messages to the Government. He received a warmer welcome at St John's Cathedral and a bookstore in Central in the afternoon, where hundreds of people queued for hours for his autograph. Publisher Macmillan estimated that his book, East and West, had netted more than $5 million, with sales of about 40,000, a quarter of them in hardcover. 'It's been an overwhelming experience - a big thank you to Hong Kong and an apology to Sha Tin,' Mr Patten said. The former Governor was 90 minutes late for book-signing in Sha Tin on Friday and only signed a handful of copies before rushing off to meet Tung Chee-hwa, causing an angry crowd to confront bookstore managers. Fashion designer Eddie Lau, 30, waited a total of 10 hours for Mr Patten, five of them in Sha Tin on Friday. 'I find him less friendly than before. Maybe it's because he is an author now and not a politician,' he said outside the cathedral yesterday. Winifred Gibson, 14, said: 'I think he is a very helpful and friendly person, much more so than Mr Tung.' Mr Patten and his wife Lavender met former domestic staff and Betty Tung Chiu Hung-ping at Government House for an afternoon tea. The couple left Hong Kong shortly before midnight.
