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15. .
It is of the utmost importance that the Empire should be
represented in strength in the recapture of HONGKONG and that the
British flag should be re-hoisted there without recriminations or
friction. Now is the time to prepare the ground for this. We
have very strong cards in our hands if we will play them.
Fortunately for this purpose the factors of Geography, Timing
and Strategy in the War against JAPAN are all in our favour. It
so happens that MALAYA and HONGKONG must be freed before the
Allies can proceed to drive the Japanese out of CHINA and
MANCHURIA. The testing of the quality of Chinese co-operation with
the British on a large scale will come first. The Chinese must
co-operate around and in HONGKONG with us, and we should be false
to our Imperial responsibilities if we failed to ensure that they
and all our Allies do so fully and to our satisfaction, not only
in operations of Army, Navy and Air Forces, but also in the
important para-military and political preparations. We should
insist on a free hand in conducting our own para-military
preparations in the HONGKONG area. It is after all at present
Japanese-occupied territory. It is not under the control of
CHUNGKING and any efforts of the Chinese to prevent us from
utilising and enlisting the anti-Kuomintang factions of the
hinterland on the excuse that they are Communists and must first
submit to CHUNGKING should be strongly resisted. We are interested
in the war against JAPAN and not in internal Chinese politics, and
to re-take HONGKONG we must organize our own 5th Columns there
with Chinese co-operation and not in the face of Chinese factional
opposition.
23
I fear that I may be accused of writing in a spirit so
hostile to CHINA and to the Chinese as to nullify the value of my own arguments. This is far from being the case. I have had many and
difficult arguments with Chinese officials and have, even
embarrassingly, been acclaimed as "a friend of CHINA". So I am, but I have always tried to conduct myself as a British official seeking to establish the Anglo-Chinese relations within my contacts on a
clear basis of mutual respect and of mutual interest. I have always
taken great pains to think out and establish the basis of truth and
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