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law prevailing in this scall area different from that in force outside. To this Froposal the Chinese Goverment replied with a counter-proposal that any offences comitted should be tried by a Chinese Court. such a proposal appeared to indicate that nothing short of complete Chinese jurisdiction in fact would costent the Chinese Government under whatever forms this objective might be disyuined. The shoal on which the negotiations have run aground is the Chinese insistence that they would conaent to a settlement only if it were publicly announced that the City of Fowloon was under Chinese jurisdiction. 1... for their part do not rule out the provision of an office for the special Comatastoner (with possibly similar provision for a new police station for Kowloon) provided it is clearly under- atood that judicial action in the area resta with the Hong Kong Goverment. A further possibility which H.).ü. might be prepared to consider was that an office for the Commissioner or Chinese Consulate might be ezected provided that the area was held on a 'aub-lease* from the authorities in the leused territoriea.
Under thuae pro-
Darden of
Chinese truatse The memorandum
18. Frior to the 27th April, 1948, wil efforts to reach a compromise were unavailing, because the Chinese proposals, whatever shape they took, did not make any concessions to the British position, but merely amounted to a re-affirmation of the Chineze olain. The mere acceptance of the proposal that there should be « gardan does not diapose or the question of jurisdiction and this is the question at isaue. Cn the R5th April, 154b, however, the Chinese sabatay in London left at the Sorelys ffice a sezorandum dated 27 th April, 1949, containing proposals which represent some concession to the view point of H.:./). posals the City of Fowloon would become Besc ́abrance wininistered by a British and the latter having an office in the garden. suggested an exchange of astes, not to be published, provið- ing for punishment by the trustees of infringements of rules and regulations for the maintenance of order is tha garden and for trial of oivil and criminal cases, arising in the garden in the courts of the locality in which the defendant has his domicile. A copy of the nezoranduæ i included at the end of Faper 4, No. 4. Although this proposal muy contain the sends of an acceptable compromise it is by no means certain that it has received the unquali- fied approval of the Chipase Government itself, and it is desfred to have the opinion of the Law Officers on the points raised in the present case because, if X.a.9. were in a position safely to offer recourse to the international Court this would be so unpalatable to the Chinese Government that it would probably induce them to accept satisfactory compronice auch more readily.
19. It has therefore buen proposed that a suggestion should be made to thọ Chinese Government that if they wish further to challenge the exercise of jurisdiction by the Hong Yong Government over Kowloon City, they should subait the dispute to the International Court of Justice. Both China and the United Kingdom have made declarations under Article 86 of the „tatute of the international Court of Justice accepting its compulsory jurisdiction. The Chinese declaration made on the 26th October, 1942 for a period or five years
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