COLY
Sent under
(F 11807/1147/10)
cover of letter from F.O. (G. V. Kitson) - Bo Regd. at (1) on 54145/46. (attacker1)
Note by John Keswick
SECRETARY FOR CHINESE AFFAIRS.
6. 7
مجھے
160
I have now had a chance of considering Chinese arfairs in Hongkong anu while my knowledge is limited I wish to draw to your attention certain points which I consider to be of a broad and funuamental nature.
(a) "Secretary for Chinese Affairs" is the old and honourable title for one of the most important posts in Hongkong. So is the equivalent in Singapore, "protector of the Chinese" but I submit that just as the title "protector" is badly out of date and in need of reconsideration, so does the Hongkong title require revision. There is one main reason for this, and it is common to both places, "Chinese Affairs" have been considered, for the last hundred years, to be merely "local affairs" of a Chinese as opposed to a European nature. There have of course been times in Hongkong when these Chinese affairs have been disturbed by outside influences, mainly from Janton, for instance the boycott in 1925/6. As a result a closer liaison was established between the Government of Hongkong and the British Consul in Canton. Local officials too began to watch Kuomintang influences in South China.
This was a step forward but during the last four years of war Hongkong, like singapore, has become a political problem of world interest. Instead of being a small island off the coast of China with Torei_n olitics confined to relations with Kwangtung Province Hongkong now finds herself with the spotlight of Chinese and American attention focussed on her. New methods of meeting the situation are needed. The European powers with Eastern interestă watch Hongkong with the greatest care, for what is Hongkong's trouble toda, may well be theirs tomorrow. I refer of course to France, Holland and Portugal who are Colonial powers like ourselves and therefore subject to the sane attacks from anti-imperialist and anti-colonial politicians in China and the United States. Hongkong, whether she liks it or not, finds herself in the position of having to have an external as well as an internal policy.
In order to face this situation the duties and with them the title of the Secretary should in future be expanded to "Secretary for Chinese and External Affairs." This will perhaps mean an expansion of the Secretary's office with a division of function between local and external affairs but this is a detail of administration. Moreover, it may be argued that such a change would detract from the dignity of the office, but if the alterations draw comment it could only be a r'avourable one namely that it shows Hongkong is alive to the necessity of watching its interests abroad.
(b) In the previous paragraphs I have set out the broad view, namely that Chinese Affairs must include relations with China, As China is now one of the so called Big Four those relations assume international imo.tance: on all of which the Governor and his Colonial Secretary should have specialised advice constantly at thir disposal.
(c) In the rather narrower and purely "China" aspect, the abolition of the so called Unequal Tre ties with China in 1943 made the Chinese in Free China think that Hongkong too would fall into their laps, and about that time Chiang Kai-shek wrote his famour book "China's Destiny" in which he said that he did not expect Great Britain would quarrel with China over so small an islanu as Hongkong. He made it 1in that he expects rendition. This was to some extent borne out by the sino-American attitude to the question of the surrender of the Colony. It is reasonable to expect, therefore, that the contacts between Hongkong and China will increase both in number and complexity and that the Central Government will do everything to further its rofessed olicy and unermine
British/