OUTWARD TELEGRAM.
FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES.
11447
COPY FOR REGISTRATION
TO HONG KONG (Sir A. Grantham)
774023/4
Cypher (0.T.P.)
Sent 13th June, 1950.
16.00 hrs.
No. 939 Confidential.
Following from Foreign Office to Peking No. 800 12th June repeated to Tamsui, Singapore and Hong Kong. Begins.
Your telegram No. 729.
(36)
Should Chinese Government raise the question of these troops you could explain that we had done no more than return to Formosa soldiers who had fallen into our hands as a result of our own action in recovering possession of a British ship and thus restore the status quo. This was quite distinct from the case of the soldiers who had entered Hong Kong as a result of action taken by Chinese forces.
2.
We are still endeavouring to ascertain exact position as regards arms and cannot express final views on this aspect of the question until further information is
available. Preliminary view is that Nationalists prima facie have a clear legal right to the arms as their property. On the other hand we appreciate that the Chinese Government may well maintain that the Nationalists are merely insurgents and that return of arms to them constitutes an unfriendly act on our part. Ends,
Circulated to:-
Secretary of State
Mr. Webber
Sir T. Lloyd
Mr. T.F. Cook
Sir G.
Jeffries
Sir H. Poynton
Mr. Gorell Barnes
Mr. Eastwood
Mr. A.R. Thomas
Mr. Galsworthy
Mr. Bennett Brig. Johnson
Colonial Attache Mr. Bigg
Accounts Branch
Mr. Davies
Rm. 445
Rm. 440
Mr. Paskin
Mr. Sidebotham
Mr. Hall1
Mr. Luke
Mr. J.C. Morgan