49
ast
Comittee had been assembled, however, the war in the Far came to an end and it was decided to suspend nation until the whole question could be discussed with the Vice-Chancellor. Cm his return to this country from interment Kr. 3loss was strongly of the opinion that the practical task to which this Committee was limited could not be effectively undertaken without incurring long-term commitments in the way of new buildings and employment of staff, and that the first and essential question calling for decision was whether the University of Hong Long should be re-established at all, and, if so, whether it should be on a limited scale to serve the local needs of liong Kong only, or whether it should be in a position to cater also for the nesds of students from China, in the interests of Sino-British relations. The Secretary of state for the Colonies (r. Hall) decided therefore to strengthen considerably the Committee previously proposed and invited the new body to advise on this broad issue. The Foreign Office have of course been kept closely advised of these developments and have been represented on the Hong Kong University Advisory Committee by ir amphrey Prideaux-Brune.
4. The Committee have now aubriitted their report, of which a printed copy is attached. It will be soer: that their in recommendation is that the Baivo:sity should be re-established ss soon as possible on a firm financial basis, with starf and facilities adequate to make it fully capable of reaching british academie standards and beauhing an effective centre for Sino-British contact in the sphere of learning. They setimate that this will involve capital and recurrent expenditure of the order of £1,000,000 and £85,600 respectively and recomend that this should be met from Imperial sources.
5.
Some maditional reasons which have beeì put forward for re-establishing the University on this broader basis were given in the final paragraph of a paper submitted to the Far astern Committee of the ar üabinet on the 20th February, 1945, which ron: ***
"In support of the wider aim Sir !. Prideaux-Brune la a paper (F. 4. (1944)10 of the 30th ovember 1944) which has already been considered by the Par astern Committee has pointed out that the future prosperity and welfare of the foreign community in China will be largely affected by the attitude and outlook of the Chinese educated olasses. It has also been pointed out that up till now it is largely to Ameries that China has turned for help in the educational field, whilet, unfortunate as it may be, Britain is associated in the chinese mind with questions of camerce rather than culture. It somas, to the Colonial offios, therefore, that from the chaos of war an opportunity has arisen which can be used to establish the University finally on the lines intended by its founder and prove it to be an important practical constitution to Anglo-Chinese goodwill and understanding in the future."
6. a regards american sctivities in china in the educational sphero, according to recent Press reports the American Associated Board of Christian Universities in china has undertaken to raise in the United
# sum OL
35.2.15,000,000 over a period of two or three years to cover the expenses of the American Universities in China for the next five years.