I
Your telegram No.1084 and your savingram
No.180. Status of Kowloon City.
1. I am glad to have these reports and wish
at once to assure you that I fully appreciate
the importance of countering quickly both the
newspaper campaign on this subject and the
provocative activities of Mr. Kwok. By adopting
these methods in preference to the normal course
of representation through diplomatic channels,
the Chinese went far to compel you to retort
in kind. I gather from Nanking telegram No.552
that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not
actively supporting Mr. Kwok, and I have no doubt
that the announcement which you issued has
influenced their attitude.
2. There is, of course, one possible
disadvantage in this counter publicity in this
case, namely that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
may well feel impelled, for reasons of face, to
support Mr. Kwok to the extent of refusing to
entertain any representations we might decide to
make to them with a view to his removal. It
seems unlikely that they would be prepared to
withdraw him from Hong Kong so long as there is
any chance of the removal being connected with
these recent incidents.
3. As you will know from my telegram No.970
the Foreign Office, in reply to a recent request
from H.M. Ambassador at Nanking, have asked him“
to adopt a completely non-committal attitude
towards