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THE EVICTIONS AT KOWLOON
on!
BRITISH REPLY TO CHINA The British Government have now replied to the representations recently made by China concerning the eviction of squatters from the. former Walled City of Kowloon. In a Note sent to the Chinese Ambassador on January 24 it is pointed out that after the tenants of the insanitary huts in the area had been evicted without disturbance on January 5 and the huts dismantled, the Chinese magistrate of the Pao On district of Kwangtung Province paid a visit to the "Walled City January 7 and addressed the crowd under the Chinese flag, which was interpreted in the Chinese newspaper National Times as a re affirmation of Chinese sovereignty. A number of huts were then re-erected, and police action to remove them met with resistance from a mob which threw stones. The police, showing great forbearance, fired warning pistol shots into the ground and dispersed the crowd with tear-gas, after which they removed the huts. It was later discovered that five persons had received minor injuries and one an abdominal wound, probably from a ricochet bullet. Two persons were arrested and sentenced to three months' hard labour for inciting persons to resist the police.
The British Government deplore that the incident took place while discussions on Kowloon were proceeding. They consider that the Hongkong Government was fully justified in taking the steps it did and they regret the attitude adopted by the National Times and the magistrate of Pao On.
368
28 JAN 1948
Ye Wallad 1/535. ingle Dr. Radford