intention of tidying up the area and making it into a public pork for the benefit of the community. Sir A. Omnthan 18 willing for this proposal now to be put forward to the Chinese Government, adding that the park would be called the Sun-Yat-Sen Memorial Park end that it would be policed and maintained by the Hong Kong Government.
(a.
His Majesty's Consul General, nton, has offered the suggestion that the area be allotted to the Ching & Govern- ment as the alte of their future Congula te-Genorol. On this the Governor has commented that it affects the Soversiinty iusue more than does the park proposal but that it docs not settle it. Moreov r, it would, in His Excellency's vi w, bo claimed us a victory by the Chinese.
Finally the Chinese Babassy in London have cohoed proposal (b), addin. the rider that police, water, electricity and other public utility requirement: would be provided by the municipal authorities of Kowloon leased territory.
Proposala (a) and (b) are clearly unacceptable.
"roposal
as it stands offere no solution to the jurisdictional saue. Proposal (a) has certain merit in as much as there is an aura of extrutérritoriality about Consular premise: which should commend it to the Chinese, though this claim has littlo or no foundation in international law. Moreover, it is one of the Governor of Hong Kong's express vishes to see Chinese representation regularised by the appointment of a Consul- General. To propose this solution is, however, open to a risk inherent in the fact that the Chinese Goverment have shown. no sign of wishing to make any cuch arrangement. we might thus be faced in the end with a Chinese Government building housing the Provincial Comissioner for Porciện Arfairs.
4.
:
*
Though the Chinese attitude on the allad City i:eue hag all the appes rence of blackm:11 there is no doubt of the existence of a cenuine feeling on the part of many Chiness for the return of Hong Kong to China, and it is evidently the policy of the Kuomintang to keep agitation alive on this subject until they regard the time as ripe or making a formal approach. To shelve the 18cue of jurisdiction over the Halled City once more would merely be to provide the Chinose Coverment with the means of sustaining agitation, and it would therefore comm to be in our interesto t. achieve a settlement 1? ve con do so without seriously weakening our own position in Hong Kong.
5.
In these circumstances it in recommended that a solution be nought whereby we accept the principle of Chinese jurisdiction over Kowloon Walled City but the Chinese agree not to attempt to exercise that jurisdiction in practice.
A public garden controlled by the municipal authorities of Kowloon Leased territory offer: such a solution end co would a Chinese consular compound if the Chinese could firet be induced to agree in principle to the appointment of a Consul General.
1th February, 1948.
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