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OUTWARD TELEGRAM

RECEIVED 21 1018

C.U. REGY.

POLITICAL.

Cypher/OTP Restricted.

FROM FOREIGN OFFICE TO NANKING.

No. 42.

17th January, 1948.

,",,, ་,

D. 8.55 p.m. 17th January, 1948.

Repeated to Hong Kong via C.0.

IMMEDIATE.

RESTRICTED.

Addressed to Nanking telegram No. 42 of January 17th, repeated for information to mong kong.

My telegram No. 40 [17th January

Canton incident].

Chinese Ambassador called this afternoon. He began by saying that his Government had expressed their formal regret at the Canton incident and had issued orders to prevent a recurrence. Several arrests had, he said, been made.

2. Ambassador went on to say that as early as January oth, after the first incident in Kowloon City, secret orders had been sent out throughout China to take precautions against anti-British outbreaks. We expressed surprise that, in these circumstances no adequate steps had been taken to prevent the burning of His majesty's Consulate General and other premises on Shameen, where mob action appeared to have gone on for some hours.

3. The Ambassador said he hoped the Hong Kong Government would take no action which might aggravate the Kowloon incident, and that we should find some means of settling our differences over the question of jurisdiction over Kowloon. Mention was made of the compromise proposals of turning Kowloon City into a public park or allocating it to the Chinese Maritime Customs.

4. Ambassador was told that Hong Kong Government were not likely to aggravate the situation. On the other hand if they were confronted with rioting or violence they could not be expected to stand idly by. The sober tone of our own press in its accounts of the Canton incident were contrasted with the unbridled tone of the Chinese press in relation to Kowloon and the hope was expressed that the Ambassador would urge his Government to discourage Chinese newspapers from adding fuel to the flames.

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