Governor, Traveller, Scholar, Spy is the title of the first full biography of Sir Cecil Clementi, one of the most gifted of Hong Kong’s 28 British Governors. Clementi spent over half of his 34-year career in Hong Kong, arriving as a Far Eastern Cadet in December 1899 and, after service in British Guiana and Ceylon, returning as Governor in 1925 when the Guangdong-Hong Kong Strike Boycott had brought the territory to its knees. He presided over an improvement in Hong Kong’s relations with China and collaborated closely with leaders of the local community to promote ‘traditional’ Chinese values as an alternative to the radical ideas then championed in China. As author Graham Hutchings will explain in this talk, while still a junior official, Clementi played a key role in the land settlement in the New Territories, published a translation of Chinese poetry, and undertook a series of epic journeys across China. As Governor of Hong Kong, he left a legacy that long outlasted him.
Governor, Traveller, Scholar, Spy The Career of Sir Cecil Clementi is published by Hong Kong University Press with subvention by the Ride Fund of RASHK and under the imprint of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Studies Series. It will debut in November 2026.
The Speaker
Graham Hutchings is an Associate at Oxford University’s China Centre and an Honorary Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham. He was a foreign correspondent based first in Beijing and then Hong Kong before taking on the role of Director of Analysis and later Managing Director at Oxford Analytica, the global analysis and advisory company. His previous books include China 1949: Year of Revolution.
PROGRAMME
Date: Tuesday, 17 November 2026
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
(Reception starts at 6:30 pm)
Venue: Café 8, Roof, Hong Kong Maritime Museum, Pier 8, Central
Admission: $175 for members, $220 for guests /non-members
(Light refreshments are included in the admission fee)
Registration: Please email <membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk> and provide your membership number, if applicable, at the time of registration. Please kindly complete your registration by advance payment via Stripe's payment links below (using your Credit Card):
Members ($175):
https://buy.stripe.com/eVq6oI5ti54c3yHgox5EY3I
Non-member / Guest ($220):
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Details about the other payment option will be sent on registration. Upon receipt of payment, your
registration will be confirmed by email. Registration will be closed at 12 noon on 16 November 2026.