A South Korean anti-globalisation protester at the WTO conference. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty
On Saturday night, after lots of networking and press conferences responding to the publication of the WTO draft ministerial text, all doors of the convention centre were locked, writes Glenys Kinnock.
Outside, rampaging South Korean farmers brandished bits of broken barriers and charged police lines. One thousand protestors were bombarded with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons. Eventually we emerged through eerily quiet streets, but hearing in the distance the drums of the clashes.
I can now claim to have been part of the siege of Wan Chai.
Even Peter Mandelson was literally all at sea, forced to board a launch to take him across the Hong Kong harbour to the convention centre.
But when the negotiators finally arrived, they found a different agenda. At 9am on Sunday morning the all-night green room discussions ended and work began on a final agreement text.
This whole process is amazingly complicated and inefficient because the agreement of 149 countries is required. However, it was clear that it was being driven by the new WTO director general, Pascal Lamy, who has really dominated the discussions in ways that belie the assertion that things here work from the bottom up!
I had been in the convention centre trying to get a sense of the response to the first draft agreement. All the stops were pulled out and the process was undoubtedly helped by moves on export subsidies. This was the result of the pressure from the world's poor countries in the Group of 90, who joined forces with countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The EU was under particular pressure to cut domestic support and Peter Mandelson, it seemed, could now negotiate. The proposals would cut trade-destroying support and an end date of 2013 was put on the table by Mandelson, as broad consensus was gained.
Everyone knew that progress depended on agriculture. Mandelson is sick of being stuck in the agricultural silo, but until now his hands have been tied. You can at least claim that this crazy process focuses minds.
As I left for the airport, a deal hung in the balance. Europe, the US and Japan made the offer of an end date of 2013, but Brazil wanted deep cuts by 2010. The least-developed countries remained angry and wanted to see progress that they could sell to their needy people at home. Everyone still had to agree.
It was at Hong Kong airport that I learnt that a limited deal had been reached after developing countries approved the EU offer to end farm export subsidies by 2013.
Even on cotton there was some movement. No deal as been set by the US on subsidies, but it looks likely that the cotton producing west Africans will acknowledge some progress. This and other issues still need undivided attention and I hope there are guarantees of that.
The views of developing countries have come out loud and clear in Hong Kong. Even the president of the US chamber of commerce commented: "For 50 years we have been telling people how to run their lives and their economies and now they are doing it." Now he has to deal with it.
A global free trade agreement remains a possibility in 2006, but we still need proof that we are making real progress on that elusive development round.
The disappointments and disagreements can be put behind us but only if the benefits for the world's poor are clear.
The peace and quiet of Wales will be very welcome as I go home in the knowledge that another agreement – that on the EU budget - has also been achieved, ensuring that Wales will continue to benefit from substantial levels of funding from Europe.
A very nice Christmas present for us in Wales. Let's hope the WTO delivers elsewhere.
* This is the last of Glenys Kinnock's posts from the WTO summit. Read her thoughts from last week here.
