Page 15
Minutes.
13A
I dont want to add unnecessarily to his mainter
a. F.A.. pp. about the
pomit
that the real
facture of Hong kons.
a kat lúc cessin
as in mush be, shobe noh a
appeasement to China, tan
But I suggest
when it is mads,
fubile gestue of
a contritališk to
anangements for mitermalishal security.
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NOTHING
TO
BE
WRITTEN
IN
THIS
MARGIN.
Circulate as marked.
い
(I regret delay but the
Jound.
8%.
26
problem has still to matura!)
such a
are
are convinced
*
The principal danger of shelving the Hongkong issue until after the war is that it gives Japan good opportunity to throw in an apple of discord among the Allies in the last stage of the war. In present circumstances Chiang Kai-shek probably does not wish to raise the question, but his hand might be forced if Japan were to allow Wang Ching-wei to declare Hongkong restored to China and hoist the Chinese flag over it. The Japanese
only likely to do this when they they are going to lose Honglong anyway, but the time will presumably come when they see they can't keep it for themselves, though they it as a political time-bomb to leave behind them. Legally, of course, the "annexation "would have no effect whatever, but politically it would be hard for Chiang to be outdone in patriotic irredention by Wang or to pull down the Chinese flag on Hongkong after it had once
flown there; he may be expected, therefore, however illogically, to try to take over from Wang or the Jap garrison and might even dare is to evict the Chinese troops by force, relying
outery
in America which such a clash would
the
occasion.
can use
on
To avert the risk of being this overtaken by a fait accompli, would it not be better to
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