CASES INVOLVING VIOLATION OF HONGKONG TERRITORIAL
VATERS, ATTACKS ON JUNKS IN THE NBIⱭ1BOUMOOD OF
HONGKONG, ETC.
98
I. Sinking of Fishing Junks on the 22nd September,
1937.
Twelve junks were working in pairs on the 22nd
September 1937 off Chilang Point when they were attacked by a war vessel. Nine of the junks were sunk, one was dis- abled and two escaped. Twelve survivors were subsequently rescued, not by the war vessel concerned, but by the steam- ships "charnhorst" and "Raying".
A Commission of Investigation appointed by the Governor of Hongkong reached the conclusion that the junks had been attacked by a Japanese submarine, and that the attack had resulted in the losses in ships stated above, in the death of 106 persons and in the sounding of six more. The junks were technically Chinese and not registered in Hongkong, but they were licensed in Hongkong for revenue purposes to oly in Hongkong waters and they habitually did 30. one of the junks were owned by British subjects; were British subjects on board and amongst the survivors, and many of those killed must also have been Rritish.
there
copy of the report was communicated to the Japanese Government by His Majesty's imbassy on the 15th January 1958 and observations of the competent Japanese authorities were invited. The inistry of Foreign Affairs replied on the 29th January 1938 that, according to the report received from the naval authorities on the spot, a Japanese patrol vessel, approaching some Chinese junks south of Chilang Point on the date specified for purposes of inspec- tion, was fired on with rifles. As resistance continued, in spite of warning fire with blanks and live shells from the patrol
/vessel,