When Bill Clinton became the first serving US president to visit Hong Kong
- Hong Kong was the final leg of the president’s nine-day trip to China in 1998.
- When Air Force One touched down at Chek Lap Kok on July 2, it was the first international flight to use the new airport.
On March 27, 1998, the South China Morning Post announced the possibility of a visit to Hong Kong by Bill Clinton – the first by an incumbent American president. “United States officials are studying sites in China and Hong Kong for possible presidential visits ahead of Bill Clinton’s trip in June,” ran the story.
However, the Hong Kong government’s hopes that he would visit on the first anniversary of the handover were dashed by “strong opposition inside the State Department to giving such high-profile approval to the Tung administration”, according to a story on April 2.
On May 11, the Post reported more details: “Mr Clinton and an entourage of up to 1,000 people will arrive on July 2, after the President’s week-long mainland visit […] A US official said yesterday that the President would ‘pack a lot in’” during his overnight stay in Hong Kong, including a gala dinner at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, a harbour cruise and several meetings.
A proposed private meeting with Democratic Party chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming proved controversial. A May 28 story announced it was likely to be sidestepped “for fear of causing a rift with Beijing”, despite a Washington Post editorial suggesting the Democrats’ recent election success gave Lee “a moral authority that Mr Tung [Chee-hwa] and his supporters lack”. In the event, the meeting went ahead.
“Mr Clinton touched down in Air Force One at 8.35pm – about 1½ hours late – on the first international flight to use Chek Lap Kok,” the Post reported on July 3.
During the visit, Clinton made calls for more democracy in Hong Kong, and urged his Chinese counterpart, Jiang Zemin, to “ride the wave of change and take China fully into the 21st century”.
The trip was not hitch free, however, with five Diaoyu protesters arrested, others yelling “Go to hell” at his motorcade, and the presidential party getting stuck in a lift.
