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KOWLOON.
When I called on the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hsu Mo, today in connection with other matters,
for he said he would take the opportunity to hand me, 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
It was true, I from which the people were being evicted? replied, but that was not the reason for the eviction.
reason was that the Government wanted to clear up this
insanitary area.
The