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Secretariat file No. 6/761/48.
CONFIDENTIAL.
No. 141.
6 - JUL 1948
House
C. Love
Kong Đảng ông.
Kong.
54179
9.
24th June, 1948.
th3
Sir,
I have the honour to submit a report on the celebrations held in Hong Kong on the occasion of the inauguration of Chiang Kai-shek as President of China under the new Constitution.
2.
When the National Assembly was meeting in Nanking during April it was originally reported that the inauguration would take place on May 5th. Under the auspices of the local K.M.T. Headquarters a so-called "Local Chinese Communities' Preparatory Committee for the Inauguration of the President and the Vice President of the Republic of China" was set up. The three Chinese Members of Councils were named in the press reports as members of the Committee, also Mr. T. W. Kwok, the Chinese Special Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Li Tai-chiu, the Head of the local K.M.T. At the same time it was indicated that there would be public meetings, processions and firework displays, and that a general holiday would be asked for.
3.
In order not to have my hand forced, I decided after consulting Executive Council to declare that "at the request of the Chinese Members of Councils" May 5th would be a general holiday "in order to afford Chinese residents in Hong Kong an opportunity to mark the inauguration of the first elected President of China". Owing to change of plans in Nanking, the date of inauguration was postponed and was eventually fixed for May 20th. News of the postponement came too late for me to defer the general holiday, which took place as announced on May 5th; May 20th was not made a holiday. Thus our gesture misfired, but Mr. T. W. Kwok stated later that it had been appreciated by Nanking.
4.
It had been arranged that the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, in consultation with the Commissioner of Police and the three Chinese Members of Councils, should review the applications for permission to hold public meetings, processions and other celebrations. The most important application was that received from the body to which I have referred in paragraph 2 above, the secretary of which was Mr. Chang Li-fu of the local K.M.T. office. In other words this application came from the local K.M.T. which pretended as usual to speak on behalf of "all circles of Hong Kong and Kowloon", In reply to this application permission was given for inter alia two processions of decorated motor lorries, one on the Island of Hong Kong and one in Kowloon. Certain conditions as to the routes to be followed and the type of vehicles to be used were prescribed and it was expressly stated that not more than 25 lorries were to be used in each processim. A letter was sent on May 1st by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs to Mr. Chang Li-fu setting out these conditions and on the 14th May, when May 20th had been decided upon as the date of inauguration, a further letter was sent to remind him of the conditions.
5.
At mid-day on the 19th May, Mr. Chang Li-fu, accompanied by a secretary from Mr. Kwok's office, after unsuccessfully visiting the Commissioner of Police, called on the Secretary for Chinese Affairs asking for permission for 100 lorries to take part in the Hong Kong procession. He was told that the original number mast stand.
On May 20th, some 100 decorated lorries turned up in Hong Kong at the assembly point, where a large crowd had assembled. The lorries in excess of 25 were held by the Police until the procession had started. In Kowloon the same thing happened, approximately 80 lorries arriving instead of the permitted 25. As attempts were made by some of the extra lorries to join the processions action had to be taken to hold them until the processions had returned to the starting points, when they were sent back to their garages under Police escort.
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
/7.
.....
A. CREECH JONES, M.P.
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