ANOTHER BRITISH PROTEST IN TOKYO
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RAID NEAR HONG KONG
By Our Diplomatic Correspondent
A stiff protest following the bombing of British territory near Hong Kong by Japanese 'planes is being delivered, on behalf of the British Government, to the British Japanese Government by the Ambassador in Tokyo, Sir Robert Craigie. Unless it is clear that Japan is. prepared to offer full recompense volun- tarily, this will be demanded peremp- torily.
Sir Robert lodged a first protest on Tuesday, without awaiting instructions from London. This appears to have re- sulted in the Japanese authorities in Canton expressing their apologies and regrets to the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir G. A. S. Northcote
DAILY TELEGRAPH AND
The British Government takes an ex- tremely unfavourable view of the Japanese demands for a greater share in directing the affairs of the Shanghai'. Municipal Council, put forward afresh on the pretext that it is justified by the latest outbreaks of terrorism in Western Shanghai.
On this matter, as on the question of Hong Kong, the British attitude has become extremely firm and uncom- promising.
Hong Kong Ban on News of Raid-
Page 13.
HONG KONG BAN ON NEWS OF RAID BY JAPANESE
COLONY'S CHINESE PRESS CENSORED
GOVERNOR & TOKYO ALLEGED APOLOGY'
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT
HONG KONG, Wednesday. It is revealed this morning that Government the Hong Kong censors deleted all reference in newspapers in the Chinese language to the Japanese bombing in Hong Kong territory yesterday.
Reuter They even suppressed a despatch from London reporting the British protest in Tokyo against the bombing.
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The suppression included quotations which the Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong intended to make from yesterday afternoon's edition of the British-owned
Hong Kong Telegraph."
The Chinese
Owners* Newspaper Association in Hong Kong is understood to be drawing up a petition to London questioning the constitutionality of the Government regulations under which such censorship is carried out.
GOVERNOR'S STATEMENT
While the Chinese newspapers are muzzled by rigid Government censor- ship, the British morning newspapers intend to publish prominently to-morrow an official statement issued by the Governor of the Colony, Sir Geoffrey Northcote. This is as follows:
A message broadcast this evening as coming from the Tokyo Foreign Office regarding an alleged apology offered by the Japanese Consul- General, who is not at present in Hong Kong, to the Colonial Secretary is less than a half-truth.
"It is advisable for the present to refrain from publishing information, reputably credible, as the diplomatic or political outcome of this outrage until the British Foreign Office in Lon- don has declared itself."
It is understood that Sir Geoffrey Northcote referred to a report broad- cast by the B.B.C. Empire transmitter at Daventry, to which he listened on his
receiver.
that This stated Japanese Foreign Office apology had been conveyed to the Hong Kong Government by the Japanese Consul- General.
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This apology is supposed to have stated: One Japanese 'plane inadver- tently crossed into British territory by mistake and dropped one bomb on train."
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CASUALTIES FROM RAID The latest casualties in yesterday's bombing incident are 131 killed and 98 injured. Of these 118 persons were killed and 80 injured in the Chinese frontier town of Shumchun, and 13 were killed and 18 injured in British territory.
The Shumchun raid has started a new influx of refugees into Hong Kong neces- sitating the reopening by the Govern- ment of three refugee camps in the vicinity of Fanling. More than 4,000 per- sons have entered the Colony in the past 24 hours.
Women and children were evacuated from Namtua, near the frontier, this morning on the advice of the village elders, who have rejected a Japanese ultimatum that they appoint a pro- Japanese magistrate before Friday. Similar ultimatums, expiring on Friday, are understood to have been made in all districts of the Hong Kong border zone.
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