OUTWARD
TELEGRAM
227
Cypher/OTP
F 5270/361/10 Confidential
No. 329
POLITICAL DISTRIBUTION
FROM FOREIGN OFFICE TO NANKING
12th April, 1948. D. 10.25 a. m. 13th April,1948.
Repeated to Hong Kong
IMPORTANT
CONFIDENTIAL
Addressed to Nanking telegram No. 329 of April 12th repeated for information to Hong Kong.
Ja
Your telegram No. 333 [of 9th April Canton and Kowloon incidents. ]
Chinese Minister called this afternoon to ask what the position was about the Kowloon incident. He appeared to have had a telegram from Nanking conveying the substance of the Vice-Minister's interview with His Majesty's Minister.
2. As regards Kowloon, Chinese Minister was told that we had nothing to add to what had been said by Sir Orme Sargent to the Chinese Ambassador some weeks ago, namely that, as the Chinese persisted in raising the question of jurisdiction, we had asked our lawyers to examine this question, We were still awaiting their views. Minister expressed the hope that these might be expedited.
3. As regards Canton, Chinese Minister was told that we could not accept the position whereby the Chinese Government attempted to link the Canton and Kowloon incidents. Minister denied that this was so, whereupon extracts from your telegram were read to him, showing that, while on the one hand the aide-mémoire definitely linked the two questions together, the Vice-Minister attempted, as Dr. Tuan had also done, to argue that this was not the case. Minister was told that we could not regard the aide-mémoire about Canton as satisfactory.
4. Minister's parting shot was that while the Chinese Government were anxious to settle the Kowloon incident, we apparently were not. He was told that this was not the case. We had made an offer which would have enabled both sides to set aside the vexed question of jurisdiction and to agree to a compromise. had been due to the fact that the Chinese did not appear willing to accept any solution which did not settle the question of jurisdiction,
222
The delay