00035
cms
Ref.:
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
CO 537/1649
restrictions. Further information is given in the enclosed Terms and Conditions of supply of National Archives' leaflet. Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the National Archives' terms and conditions and that your use of it may be subject to copyright
the force in whic themselves have
ست
equensed
Comcan one this pois.
Governor makes/that the Chinese would not look at
an offer to surrender the lease of the New Territories on the terms proposed and that we should run obvious risks in making any such offer is really one for the Foreign Office and not the Governor. In fact, the paragraph which they Bereign Office Thomasises have proposed for inclusion in the memorandum specifically says that this offer (that is an offer to surrender the lease on the proposed terma) represents the line we would propose to adopt in the event of negotiations being undertaken on our own initiative.
I think that we shall have to make the under-mentioned amendments in the Second Revise of the paper to meet the Governor's views and that I shall have to explain the reason for them to Mr. Kitson, without, I think, sending him a copy of the Governor's telegram. The amendments in question are:-
(a) Paragraph_6(p): For the passage "proposed by the Governor of Hong Kong (Annex II)" substitute "set out in Annex II".
(b) Delete the reference to the Governor of Hong Kong at the head of Annexure II.
The question arises whether we should make any further amendments (in paragraphs 9, 10 or 13/ emphasising the point that an offer on the lines proposed is not likely to be acceptable to the Chinese. There is already a reference to this in the new paragraph 11 where it is said that it is realised that such an offer would probably fall far short of Chinese demands. I should be disposed to leave it at that. I feel that we ought not to pay too much attention to the probable Chinese reactions in determining our policy here. We are virtually committed to discussions with the Chinese on the New Territories, but surely that does not mean that the only question for consideration is the surrender of the lease without any quid pro quo. That is about the only other course we could propose in the paper to be followed in the event of our taking the initiative. It would obviously be much less attractive to the Governor than an offer to surrender the lease on the terms which he himself suggested some time ago. I cannot help feeling that in his comments in (61), the Governor has rather overlooked the fact that we are virtually committed to discuss the lease of the New Territories.
I would accordingly propose to confine
the amendments to the memorandum as the result of
the Governor's telegram at (61) to the two mentioned above plus the further amendments referred to in the 5th paragraph of the Governor's telegram.
}
Ins
59 From Fo. (lisson)
20.11.46.
1 11.46
•
60. Joint Memo by 7.0.0 C.D. on Future of Hong Kong Mov. 1946 61. you Hong Kong Top Secur Jel. 1493
16.11.46
N
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