Page 34
Q3A
16.
Page 34
equity on which to rest the British case, and when I have been able
to do that and to believe in the essential equity of my cause I
have generally found that when reduced to simple principles they
woke a corresponding reaction in the Chinese mind.
They share
our fundamental idea of what is Right and Wrong. They are,
moreover, Realists in thought, going in this far beyond us, possibly because their philosophy is far more divorced from and unclouded by
religion and sentimentality. One consequence of this is that
they are more apt to think in terms of immediate Profit and Loss, and of Expediency, provided they can find some moral justification or
"Face" must be precedent to ensure them against "Loss of Face".
safeguarded at all costs. Like us, they are commercially minded,
and if a basis of common self-interest can be established they
will readily indulge their aptitude for Compromise rather than
force some principle to its rigid and logical conclusion.
It cannot be denied that if the question of HONGKONG is
to be approached by both sides in a rigid and uncompromising spirit
and pressed to an immediate decision it may lead to an open breach,
for HONGKONG was taken from CHINA by War and lies within the mouth
of the one of her greatest rivers. But if it is approached in the
background of its historical past (in which it figures as a base
for the British sea-power which has sheltered CHINA from dangerous
aggressions) and in that of this war, in which it is a gage and
guarantee of British common interest with CHINA, and when it is shown that "Face" will be given to the Chinese in the municipal
arrangements in the New Order, I think it most unlikely that the
force of arguments based on the desirability for the energetic and
successful prosecution of the War, the establishment of Peace and
of the necessity for CHINA to have powerful and good friends in her
Allies, and particularly the British Empire in the dangerous post-
war period, will fail to have effect.
We have numerous good and tried friends among the
Chinese, and their political and economic fortunes are closely
linked with Anglo-American interests. Without Anglo-American support
they would be lost. They know it, and we know it. We must clear
our lines with the Americans and then tackle the Chinese firmly.
Page 34
Page 34
Page 34