Sec.9/3361/46
SECRET
SAVINGRAM
To Secretary of State.
From the Governor, Hong Kong. Date 20 January, 1948.
6
No.
Copied to British Ambassador,
Nanking. No. 3.
54145/14/45
Reference my telegram No.65. Kowloon City.
(45)
Following is text of further letters exchanged by T.W. Kwok and myself. From Kwok dated 18th January, 1948, begins:
RECEIVED
13 548
C. O. REGY
"I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 16th of January, 1948, on the subject of the Kowloon Walled City in reply to my Note of the 13th of January, 1948, on the same subject.
Tt is clear that from our interviews there is a difference in the interpretations placed upon the Peking Convention of 1898 by our respective Governments.
I am disappointed that while negotiations were in progress between our Governments, the Government of Hong Kong did not heed our repeated requests not to resort to forcible measures on the territory of the Kowloon Walled City.
I cannot agree with Your Excellency's personal view that the major responsibility for the regrettable incidents of the morning of the 12th January 1948 rest with us through the commission or omission of any action by us, particularly if such action would have involved identifying ourselves directly or indirectly with the point of view which is opposite to that of my Government. On the contrary, the responsibility for those regrettable incidents must be borne by the Hong Kong Government and the public officials charged with the carrying out of the acts which culminated in the incidents of the 12th January, 1948.
The most regrettable and disturbing aspect of the incident on the morning of the 12th January 1948 is the fact that the public officials charged with carrying out the orders of the Hong Kong Government saw fit to employ the use of firearms according to a pre-determined resolution. As a result of the use of firearms bullet wounds were inflicted. The use of this extreme means of preserving order has undoubtedly had the effect of aggravating a situation which I am sure Your Excellency and the Hong Kong Government could not have desired to see deteriorate. I have noted the public statements issued by Hong Kong Government in the press on the 11th and 13th January 1948. But the facts speak for themselves, and subsequent events inside China indicate that the resort to the use of firearms on the residents of the Kowloon Walled City has been deeply resented throughout the whole.country. It is regrettable therefore that the Police of Hong Kong in carrying out what they considered to be their lawful duties adopted measures which involved the excessive use of force against the defenceless and the unarmed. I hereby repeat my protest against the action of the Hong Kong Police on the 12th January 1948, and to again request that pending the settlement of the issue between the two Governments, the Hong Kong Government will refrain from further police action in the Kowloon Walled City.