Given the way state institutions, whether in authoritarian or liberal societies, manipulate the public space in recent years, this is a timely book by author, Ya Wen-Lei. It explores the factors encouraging or discouraging open public discourse. Although the primary focus of the book is on the contentious public space in China, there are broader lessons to be drawn as populism with authoritarian tendencies seems to be gaining ground in western democracies.

Lord Paddy Ashdown, Liberal Democrat leader and Patron of CLDs, had a two-day fact-finding mission to Hong Kong (27 Nov 2017 - 28 Nov 2017).

Speaking to the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Lord Ashdown said Britain must remember its obligations to its former colony Hong Kong, even as it pursues post-Brexit trade deals with Beijing.

The Queen has in her Christmas speech welcomed new members into the royal family in 2018.

Prince Harry will soon have a mother-in-law who is African American and the young couple's future children will be of mixed race heritage. The society pages lap up the fairy-tale love story and we all cheer ourselves on how liberal we have become as a nation.

On 7 December the Ensuring We Remember Campaign issued a press release confirming that the site for a permanent memorial has been secured. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of ABP (London) Investment Limited, a 9.6m tall memorial will hopefully be erected at the primary entrance to the £1.7bn development at the Royal Albert Docks in Newham.

On 15th November, Ming Ai Institute together with curators from Hongkong held an exhibition at the China Exchange of Hongkong's Intangible Cultural Heritage. Following consultation earlier this year, the 20^th anniversary year of the establishment of the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, a list of 20 items have been drawn up relating to the intangible cultural heritage of Hongkong.

Liam Fox and other Brexiteers in the UK's current Conservative government are fond of saying that when we are "free" from the European Union, we will be able to enter into a great new dawn of trading partnerships with other big players around the world, not least China. Actually, it was David Cameron and the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who really championed the idea of a bright future hand-in-hand with the People's Republic, though they never imagined that would be something totally separate from EU-China trading relations. Theresa May, interestingly, has been a little more cautious in her embrace of President Xi Jinping, who has been expertly consolidating his authority at the Chinese People's Congress this week. But despite the bluff reassurances of Liam Fox, David Davis and Boris Johnson, forging an advantageous new trading relationship with China is unlikely to be straightforward, for a number of reasons. First, until Britain formally leaves the EU - in principle on 29 March 2019 - it cannot make any bilateral arrangement with Beijing. Moreover, there are not sufficiently qualified negotiators in Whitehall to handle such a sensitive matter (as the EU has dealt with our trade negotiations for the past four decades) and little Britain, with 60 million inhabitants, is going to be at a distinct disadvantage in taking tough with the colossus of China, unlike the 500-million strong EU, which is still the largest trading bloc in the world. Bilateral trade is already skewed in China's favour, and is likely to be more so in future, not less. Other factors make prospects mixed. China under Mr Xi is becoming more assertive in global affairs, having largely sat on the sidelines for many years, even within the UN Security Council. Many people in China believe the time has now come for China to reassert its pre-eminence in the world, as was the case prior to 1500 and the rise of European Empires. The four hundred years of European dominance, followed by a century of American hegemony, may in future be seen as a blip in comparison to China's long supremacy. Then there is the issue of Donald Trump, who is repositioning the United States to be more isolationist (and certainly more self-centred), racheting up conflicts with countries such as Iran and North Korea in a way that risks souring US-China relations. Yet Theresa May aspires to be Mr Trump's greatest ally, despite disagreeing with him over the Iran nuclear deal. This could prove awkward. In the meantime, the British government has downgraded human rights as a priority in its foreign policy, which is sweet music to Xi Jinping's ears - though Britain must be careful to ensure that as a future relationship evolves it does not end up dancing to Beijing's tune.

The topic of our first joint forum with Liberal Democrats in Business on 29 September was chosen in part to emphasize that trade between UK and China will grow regardless of whether BREXIT does in fact happen.

This was clearly illustrated by various power point slides presented by our first guest speaker, Dr Yeow Poon, President of the England China Business Forum showing how starting from a fairly low base, trade and investments between our 2 countries have been rising year on year.

My first LibDem Conference has been great fun but unfortunately far too short, as I only had a weekend pass. Still, I managed to pack in a whole lot in those two days - here are my highlights:

The issue closest to my heart, Brexit, was a priority at Conference. Which other party would be brave enough, democratic enough, to let its members set its Brexit policy? LibDems one-by-one lined up to speak with passion and fire on our fundamental pro-European beliefs. The only argument was how to achieve an Exit from Brexit. The debate was LibDems at their best - people from all backgrounds - many speaking for the first time - sharing their thoughts, experiences and expert views with enthusiasm. A simple majority confirmed the party policy - that we will campaign to be a full member of the European Union (not just membership of the Single Market & Customs Union as per our General Election stance) and we wish to achieve this by having what Vince Cable calls a "First Referendum on the Facts", widening the franchise to include 16 & 17year olds, UK citizens who live abroad and the estimated 3 million EU nationals who make UK their home. If Brexit is such a great idea and will unlock so many untold positives why fear a vote on the final deal at the end of the negotiations?

Whilst compatriots commemorate the losses from the Battle of Passchendaele at Menin Gate over the weekend, there was a screening of a new documentary at Regents University in London on the Chinese Labour Corps and their forgotten contributions in the Great War.

Extract from the website of The Meridian Society, maker of the documentary film "Forgotten Faces of the First World War":