COPY.
28P
MINUT
A MEIT INO TO DISCUSS ANTI-PIRACY MEASURI
HELD AT THE JAPANESE LEGATION AT 11 a.m. NOVEMBER 16th, 1927.
The Committee set up by the Diplomatic Body consisted of:
The Japanese Kinister, The French Kinister, The British Minister,
The Italian minister,
The United States Chargé d'affaires.
The Governor of Hongkong also attended the meeting.
The Japanese Minister, after expressing apprecia-
tion at the presence of sir C. Clementi, recalled the
circumstances in which the Committee had been set up. It
was difficult to find an ideal plan for suppressing piracy
BAIK- so long as China was in its present chaotic state.
ditry both on land and sea was due to the political situa-
tion. In these circumstances se must
content if we
could find some temporary and fessible palliative.
invited sir C. Clementi to give his views.
sir c. clementi said that he could not furnish an
He could only give information. The only
ideal plan.
time within nis recollection when piracy was not rampant
was shon Li Hung-chang went to Hongkong and dealt with it
in Chinese fashion. The present difficulty was the weak-
ness of the Canton Government, and the fact that that
Government had until recently been anti-foreign and there-
fore unwilling to suppress piracy. There had been on
instance of cooperation. British Naval mad Military
forces had cooperated with Chinese forces in an expedition
to Bias Bay in 1925. since then, however
incessant trouble and a new form of piracy
there had been
from within
the ship - had arisen which it was difficult to counter.
# Lrene'
shen the pirated
He sited the recent case of the
ship