KOWLOON.
When I called on the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Mr.Hsu Mo, today in connection with other matters, he said
he would take the opportunity to hand me, for transmission to
the Ambassador, a personal letter from himself on the subject
of the Kowloon evictions. The question was causing a great
deal of trouble and heartburning, and both the Waichiaopu
and the Special Delegate for Foreign Affairs in Canton were
receiving continuous protests and petitions about it.
The question had two aspects, one legal based on the
Convention, and the other economic based on the hardship
suffered by the evicted people. He did not want to argue
about the legal aspect but he very much hoped that a way would
be found of allowing these people to remain where they were;
if a public garden had to be made it could surely be made
elsewhere.
I replied that the Governor of Hongkong was at a loss to
understand why the Chinese Government were so interested in
preserving this collection of insanitary hovels, for that was
what the buildings were. As for hardship, it was very slight
no more than was involved in any scheme of town improvement
and certainly less than had been involved, say, when Chinese
had been moved to make way for the Chung Shan Road in Nanking.
The people who were being moved were being given a new site
free of charge and money enough to build new houses.
Was it true, Mr. Hsu asked, that the Hongkong Government
were going to make a public garden on the ground from which
the people were being evicted? It was true, I replied, but
that was not the reason for the eviction. The reason was that
the Government wanted to clear up this insanitary area.
Would/