IMMEDIATE
SECRET
Mr. Rowan.
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HONG KONG
Thank you for your minute of the 14th March asking, on behalf of the Prime Minister, for my comments on the minute addressed to the Prime Minister on behalf of the Chiefs of Staff on the continuance of the military administration in Hong Kong after 1st of April.
We are not, of course, in a position to assess the military reusons put forward by the Chiefs of staff for an extension. There are, however, cogent reasons why, in our view, military administration should not be continued longer than is absolutely necessary. It is a form of administration, akin to martial law, which severely restricts the rights and
It also adversely privileges of the individual.
affects the future of the territory, inasmuch as a military administration is clearly not in a position to embark either on discussions leading up to constitutional advance (a matter of particular intercat to the people of the colony) or on the longer term measures of rehabilitation and reconstruction. measures are of first importance and urgency to the territory as a whole and should not be delayed a moment longer than is absolutely necessary.
Those
If it is considered that the considerations adduced in the minute addressed to the Prime Minister are such as to necessitate an extension of the period of military administration, we would strongly urge, for the reasons given above, that the period should be kept as short as possible and that it should not
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