Paper F attached
Convention of 1898, the City of Kowloon is
expressly reserved to Chinese jurisdiction.
This is supported by reference-to the policy of
other Conventions of 1898 under which China
leased territory to foreign powers. A Foreign
Office memorandum on this aspect of the matter is
attached hereto. The Chinese note referring
to the words of the Convention which speak of
"Chinese officials now stationed there" and
requiring them to exercise their jurisdiction
in a manner consistent with the military require-
ments for the defence of Hong Kong, says that
these words cannot logically be taken to mean
only the persons then holding office in the
City and not to include all their successors.
It points out that there is no provision in the
Convention for the withdrawal of the Chinese
officials, and emphasises the distinction with
the remainder of the newly leased territory over
which Great Britain is to have sole jurisdiction,
and argues that this implies that within Kowloon
Great Britain is not empowered to exercise such
jurisdiction. The note adds that the Chinese
Government has never renounced jurisdiction over
Kowloon. The argument in the note concludes
by referring to the circumstances in which the
leases of 1898 were granted. It says:
"Unable to resist the successive rival
demands from the Powers who were each seeking
a sphere of influence on the Asiatic
mainland, the Chinese Government secured
a minimum reservation in each of the leases
where a local Government was functioning
in the form of a special area over which
China should continue to exercise juris-
diction."
In other/
NOTHING TO
BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN.