Customers gather outside the International Bank of Asia in Hong Kong in 1997 following rumours of a bank run. The beginnings of the Asian financial crisis were missed by many reporters covering the Hong Kong handover. Photo: AFP
How Hong Kong handover blinded media to story of the decade
As the cream of the world’s foreign correspondents concentrated on topics like the fate of the last British policemen and the Happy Valley cemetery, a far more consequential event was about to upend the entire region
Customers gather outside the International Bank of Asia in Hong Kong in 1997 following rumours of a bank run. The beginnings of the Asian financial crisis were missed by many reporters covering the Hong Kong handover. Photo: AFP