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British Government stood by the Order-in-Council of

27th December, 1899, but it was pointed out that it

had never, in fact, been recognized by the Chinese

Government.

After consultati on with the War office, Admiralty

and Air Ministry it was decided at a meeting held in

London on 16th July, 1937, between the Governor of

Hong Kong, and representatives of the War Office,

Foreign Office and Colonial office, that any

concession to the Chinese in regard to their resuming

jurisdiction over Kowloon City, might well be

incompatible with the military requirements of

Hong Kong, and that once a concession had been

allowed in Kowloon City (an area of approximately 8

acres), the Chinese might be expected to "cast

covetous eyes on the rest of the New Territories of

which the walled City was in the pre-cession era the

Chinese administrative centre". Authority was

therefore given for the remaining recalcitrant owners

in Kowloon to be evicted and an intelligence report

dated 30th September, 1937, states that the Chinese

authorities hau not referred to the matter again either

in Canton or Nanking.

They have however raised the matter again at the

present time and the Governor of Hong Kong,

Sir Mark Young, in an interview with Mr. T.W. Kwok

(Chinese Special Foreign Affairs Commissioner) on

September 15th, was informed that the Chinese

Government would not relinquish any treaty rights, was

preparing to re-establish its jurisdiction, and has

actually given orders that the Chinese civil ad-

ministration was to be set up in Kowloon City. it

seems clear from the foregoing paragraphs that

China has never agreed to waive her jurisdiction over

the walled city, although no jurisdiction has been

/exercised