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No.1206 (58/13/45) Copied to:
C-in-C.,H'kong No.39 Govt. of India No.256 Mr.Dening No.166 Shanghai No.151
BRITISH EMBASSY,
CHUNGKING,
November 30th, 1945.
F11795
17 DEC 1945
F88
Sir,
·
I have the honour to transmit to you, herewith, a copy of a memorandum by the General Officer Commanding, British Troops in China, on the recent visit to Chungking of Major General F.W. Festing, C.B.E., D.S.0., Commander of the Landforces in Hongkong.
2. I fully endorse Major General Hayes' opinion that this visit was eminently successful and timely; and the numbers of senior Chinese officers who turned up at the various functions to do honour to the visitor was striking and gratifying.
3. I would myself be inclined to take a more cautious attitude in regard to Chinese reactions to Hongkong than is taken by General Hayes. It is indeed true and the point has been made in other communications to you from this Embassy that Chinese high authorities have recently shown an increasing tendency to seek British cooperation in their solution of their problems. To that extent one might logically expect that China's "natural aspirations" in regard to Hongkong should be relegated to the background. Moreover, I feel sure that thinking Chinese do appreciate the value to China, and of course to their own personal affairs, of having a stable administration in so convenient a location as the colony. This indeed gives emphasis to the contention that the more rapid the consoli- dation of the economic situation of the colony, the greater the advantage of its existence to British interests in the Far East as a whole. But Hongkong as a theme for political tub-thumping is as convenient to the Chinese as its geo- graphical location and it must be difficult to give any definition of the word "immediate" in General Hayes' view that we "certainly need have no immediate fear of trouble with the Chinese over Hongkong",
4. For the rest, I agree with the General's conclu- sion that, having regard to the trend here towards seeking British cooperation, a show of firmness upon rights and decision as to our objectives is more likely to pay divi- dends than an over-investment in appeasement.
I have the honour to be,
With the highest respect,
Sir,
Your most obedient, humble Servant,
Sawallinger
The Right Honourable
Ernest Bevin, M.P.,
Foreign Office,
LONDON, S.W.1.
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