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XVII.-Letter of 2nd March, 1927, from The Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Canton, to H. M. Consul-General, Canton.
Sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge your despatch transmitting a list of names of pirates together with the villages where they reside and to inform you that it has been forwarded to the Headquarters of the Revolutionary Army for instructions to be given for their lairs to be attacked. A reply has been received stating:-
"The Wai Chou Gendarmery Headquarters have already been telegraphed to, to send troops against the pirates of the Ping Hoi and Fan Wo Hong Districts and before doing so to telegraph the date of despatch in order that Hong Kong may be notified so as to bar the pirates' escape. A reply has been received stating that it has been decided to send troops on the 26th instant for the said purpose and requesting that the Naval Board be instructed to despatch a warship on the 27th instant to co-operate. In addition to instructing the Naval Board to send this ship I have the honour to request that Hong Kong be notified in order that the pirates be cut off from that direction".
I have the honour to request that you will notify His Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong of the above and ask him to issue instructions for such co-operation.
I have etc., etc.,
XVIII.-Note of 3rd March, 1927, from Minister for Foreign Affairs, Canton
to H. M. Consul-General, Canton.
Acknowledges despatch of the 7th in regard to the rejection of the proposal to co-operate against Bias Bay pirates which stated that recently one British and two Chinese steamers had been attacked and urged that the pirates be at once cleared out to avoid a recurrence of such incidents. Your despatch was communicated to Military Headquarters which replied that already the 18th Division and a warship had attacked the pirates; that the local garrison troops had, however, again been strictly instructed to carry out an attack effectively and Divisional Commander Hn had been ordered at once to despatch troops to Fan Ho-Kang and Ping-Hoi to clear out the pirates notifying Headquarters beforehand of the date of the troops' despatch so that Headquarters could request me to ask Hong Kong to block the pirates' retreat.
On receipt of notification of the date of the troops despatch I will request you to inform the Governor of Hong. Kong and ask for the latter to co-operate within the Hong Kong territory.
XIX.-Note of 2nd March, 1927, from Minister for Foreign Affairs, Canton,
to H. M. Consul-General, Canton.
A communication has been received from General Li stating that telegraphic in- structions have been sent to Commander Hu to send troops to exterminate the pirates in the Ping Kai Fan and Hoi Kong District. Troops are already stationed at Ping Hoi and they have been ordered to proceed at once to Fan Wo Kong there to exterminate pirates, General Li further states that he is waiting for Commander Hu to telegraph the date of their despatch; on receipt of this news he will inform this Ministry. He further adds that as regards Shan Chun and Sha Tou Kok it was troops of the Citizen Farmers' Corps who crossed the frontier and posted up anti-British placards and that the local garrison have been ordered to prevent such acts.
*No signature, except "on behalf of Ch'en Yu-jen”.