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on the part of China to obtain either the retrocession of Hong Kong or the early termination of the lease of the New Territories, has been going on intermittently since at any rate 1943. The practica reason for the Colonial Office concern in this matter is that we have been faced from time to time by demands for a public statement as to our intentions. The emphasis on the reasons why the Colonial Office considers such a public statement desirable has shifted in the course of time as will be seen from X in No. 6, the absence of such a public statement of intention continues to be a source of embarrassment. Originally the demand came from the China Association in the general interests of British trade in China. Now, however, the emphasis seems to lie on the adverse political effects in Hong Kong itself.
minly
I am not familiar with the whole of the history of this controversy with the Foreign Office but I think I am right in saying that the issue has never yet been fully and squarely placed before the Cabinet.
referral to at x below was not in fact submitted to the Cabriset on futher
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On the most recent occasion, Mr. Donner was prevailed upon to withdraw his Question.But I do not think that we can hope always to escape a determined demand for a statement of policy. Even if we do so escape it,we are still left with the political effects in Hong Kong of the absence of any such statement. I therefore agree with Mr. Sidebotham that it is very desirable that the Foreign Secretary should again be urged to agree to the matter being fully explored and, after full preparation, be referred to the Cabinet in accordance with the opening which Mr. Bevin has given us in his letter of the 9th June on 54145/PQ1.
There is already in existence at No. 104 in the 1947 file, a memorandum prepared in the Colonial Office for submission to the Cabinet. But owing to the change of emphasis referred to above, and such other developments as the proposal to construct a new airport at Deep Bay, it seems to me that the whole issue ought to be examined afresh in all its aspects at the departmental level before submission to the Cabinet. The departments principally concerned are the Colonial Office, the Foreign Office and the Board of Trade and it seems to me that the most effective machinery for the proposed review would be a small interdepartmental committee of representatives of those three departments.
*
Unless, therefore, the Secretary of State feels, from his recent conversation with Mr. Bevin, that it would be inopportune to press for this re-examination of the matter at the present moment, I suggest that the Secretary of State should now write to Mr. Bevin proposing that it should be undertaken.
Owing to the change of emphasis indicated above, the Colonial Office is no longer, I feel, itself adequately equippped to present the case for a public statement and part of the process of the review should be to obtain from Hong Kong a current
appreciation of the position and a review of the
various proposals which have been considered in the
past for a possible compromise as regards the New Territories if we were faced with a really urgent demand from
/China