*
KY. 224) JUNE. 1949
LYS HUGHES: (Lab. - Ayrshire, S.)
To ask the Minister of Defence, what was the purpose of his visit to Hong Kong; and what conclusions he has come to as to whether further military activity there is justifiable.
URSTION:
MR. LANGFORD-HOLT: (Con.
Shrewsbury)
To ask the Minister of Defence, whether
he will make a statement on his recent visit to Hong Kong and the Far East.
MR. ALEXANDER
During a short tour in the early part of this
month, when I visited Ceylon and Malaya, and also
took the opportunity of making a general study
of the whole position in the Far East, I
stayed for three days in Hong Kong for
discussions with the authorities, both civil
and military, on the spot.
As I indicated, on behalf of the Government)
when in Hong Kong, our object is to maintain the
friendliest possible relations with whatever
may be the Government of China, at the same
into
time taking account our obligations to
the people of the territory for which we are
responsible. I found that the responsible authorities are facing their problems with
confidence and, in the field of defence, all
practicable steps are being taken to ensure
the safety of Hong Kong.