CO537-2187 — Page 110

Extract from H.K. Sec. Sow. 30 04/30/5/07,

(reg) on 54228/1147).

Copy Jer 54145/17

115

(a) Interest or activity in the Colony on the part of

any foreign country

In addressing the People's Political Council at

Nanking on 22nd May, Foreign Minister Wang Shih-Chieh

expressed the belief that the question of Hong Kong and

Kowloon would eventually be settled and that Britain

might voluntarily relinquish its control of the Colony.

The responsible members of the Chinese community here

think that Britain is not likely for many years to come

to give up Hong Kong voluntarily without a demand from

China for its return and that such a demand is not likely

to be made or seriously pressed as long as civil war

divides the nation.

All the local Chinese newspapers with the exception

of the Wah Kiu Yat Po, which is the leading Chinese daily,

gave prominence to this item of news from Nanking. The

Kuomintang-controlled "National Times" characteristically

twisted the report by printing a headline which read

"Retrocession of Hong Kong and Kowloon may not be long

delayed."

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