CO537-2190 — Page 22

8

DEC

XI XU

I

INWARD TELEGRAM

I

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONTES

Cypher (0.T.P.)

ΙΛ

EIVED IN

193

W

RE

STRY

IMPORTANT

FROM HONG KONG (81 A. Grantham)

D. 7th December, 1947. R. 7th

No.1859 Scoreta

零售

Addressed to the 5. of S.

09.00 hrs.

*

Repeated

to Nanking,

No.203.

**

by savingram to Consul-General, Canton.

Your telegram No.1094 of 1946.

Kowloon Walled City.

A new agitation about Kowloon Walled City le brewing. Immediate cause for this is that for reasons of public health and danger of fire, Public Works Department on 27th November served oviation notices on some 54 wooden huts which had been illegally erected on Crown Land within the area of the former Walled City in the past few months (old wall was pulled down by the Japanese and no longer existe). Date of expiry of notices is 11th December, 1947. Number of pareons involved is probably between 500 and 1,000, although the Chinese press claime that as many as 2,000 involved. As far as can be aacortaland, none of these resided there previously, and they cannot be regarded as having an original claim to the land. Further huts are being put up and offered for rental by people exploiting the situation.

24 MP. T.W. Kwok came to see me on 29th Novembar regarding an earlier case of a hut on this land which arose in October. Ho say me again on 2nd December and I informed him that we regarded the land in Kowloon City as Crown Land and proposed to proceed accordingly by continuing with the serving of notices. Mr. Kwok then said this involved a matter of principle, alpce Government does not recognise Kowloon City as Crown Land, He added that he was proceeding to Nanking on 4th December and that he would take the matter up there,

*

als

3. Meanwhile Chinese representative has taken op the matter vigorously and the familiar arguments brought out last year that Kowloon City La under Chinese sovereignty under the Peking Convention, 1898, are being repeated. At the same time aquattere inside the city have formad a Kowloon City Repideuts' Association and they have sent a delegation to Kwok'a office to present a petition and they are also petitioning the District Magistrate of Po on (the district which adjoins the Colony's land frontier). They have also announced that a Press Conference will be held today, though it is not known where it will take place. A public demonstration is also scheduled for 11th December,

/4,