Your editorial, ‘a Hong Kong crackdown would be a tragic error’ (August 15) reaches the right conclusion but it does not propose viable means to

Letter published in the Financial Times
Tim is the author of ‘Mr China’ and has lived, worked and travelled in China since the 1980’s. He regularly addresses broadcasters, conferences, business and academic groups , such as the BBC, NPR and CNN, the boards of multinational companies, the Asia Society and universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Dartmouth. He often appears as keynote speaker at business conferences.
Tim’s books have been described as critical to understanding China by the World Economic Forum and Fortune Magazine. Time Magazine called his first book, Mr China, ‘an instant classic’ and it was translated into fifteen languages.
Tim has completed more than a hundred business transactions in China at a value of over a billion dollars. He is a director of Henderson Far East Income and Baillie Gifford China Growth, two of the UK’s flagship quoted investment trusts, and served on the Strategic Advisory Board of Braemar Energy Ventures, the New York-based clean energy investor.
Tim’s aim is to contribute to a better understanding of China so that Westerners can engage, cooperate and compete more effectively. He is a Senior Research Associate at the Cambridge University China Forum.
The Financial Times Shanghai correspondent wrote of his later book, Chinese Rules;
‘Read Tim Clissold, the British businessman whose book Mr China is probably the best I have ever come across about China. Now he has written another: it’s about what makes China tick – for foreigners who can clearly hear it ticking but can’t quite figure out why.’
“There’s something about China, something so vast and so old that it takes you right out of yourself.”
“There’s something about China, something so vast and so old that it takes you right out of yourself.”
As well as speaking on China, Tim uses his experience to coach management teams and boards how to navigate China. He also negotiates with Chinese counterparties on behalf of foreign clients.