44
Colonial Office,
Downing Street,
S.W.1.
2nd August, 1945
27
Dear Sterndale Bennett,
We have been looking at the Central News Agency message entitled "G-5 Helps to Gear China's Economy War Effort" which was sent to the
Foreign Office in a third person note from Chungking of the 26th June (your reference F.4125/88/10). In the last paragraph reference is made to plans "for the invasion of enemy-held port areas in China" and to a series of studies by which programmes have been drawn up in relation to "four important east China coastal cities" What we should like to know
is whether Hong Kong is one of these four China coastal cities.
In this connection you may like to know that Miss linder of the Welfare Committee of the
9
Far Eastern section of U.N.R.R.A. called here the other day to tell us what plans U.N.R.R.A. is making for welfare work in China and she mentioned a
'four port scheme" i.e. a scheme involving importation or relief goods at four Chinese ports when they became available. She was, however, not able to tell us which ports were involved in this scheme; but the reference to four such ports suggests they they may in fact be the ones referred to in the Central News Agency message.
Yours sincerely,
9. Pa
Pasurin
J. C. STERNDALE BENNETT, ESQ., C.M.G., M.C.