Dr. Sloss also said that though the Hong Kong Government was alive to the problem they did not wish to advertise it at present.
It does not seem to me that there is anything more we can usefully do here at this stage.
Mr. Paskin
on 54436/48
Julen
5.5.48.
As regards No.
2, the Governor referred to this matter in the course of a talk when I was in Hong Kong, and told me about "X" of Mr. Wallace's minute above. To do anything overt at the present time would be most undesirable. The Governor thought they could probably put up temporary accommodation for about 200,000 refugees on the abandoned airfield at Kam Tin. The general feeling was, I think, that Dr. Soong's administration in the Chinese area adjoining the new territories was doing sufficiently well to be able to be counted on as a very useful buffer to any immediate influx of Chinese refugees. I agree that, short of having several divisions on the frontier, it would be quite impossible to prevent an influx if there was a sudden collapse at any time. I have little doubt that every step possible will be taken by the Hong Kong Government to keep refugees out of the municipal area.
My own inclination, therefore, would be to bring this up in months' time, when we might write semi-officially to the Governor and ask how matters stand, unless we had had information from other sources in the meantime which rendered earlier enquiry necessary.
(There are indichinscrit laps hay of a his
crummist offensor in Honan
almy
This W. Hun-Husch mon.
ゾ
5.5.1948.
Mr. W.I.J. Wallace.
My inclination is to let the Governor have a semi-official line to let him know that Ministers here are concerned to know what steps are being taken in Hong Kong to provide against the contingency of the influx of hordes of Chinese refugees.
But this problem has been examined on innumerable occasions in the past. In particular
/my