CO537-3706 — Page 119

180

C

Cypher/OTP

POLITICAL DISTRIBUTION

FROM NANKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE

Sir R.Stevenson, No.231

4th March,1948.

Repeated to Hong Kong.

MOST IMMÉDIATE

LIGHT

D. 11.56 a.m. 4th March,1948

R. 12.13 p.m. 4th March,1948

Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No.231 of March 4th, repeated for information to Hong Kong.

My telegram No.229 of March 3rd Kowloon City.

"Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs sent for His Majesty's Minister today and informed him under instructions of Minister for Foreign Affairs (who he implied may not have made himself clear yesterday) that local Chinese could not agree to any form of admission of British jurisdiction over Kowloon City as "Chinese would regard this as revival of extra- territoriality.

2.

This is of course the reverse of what the Minister for Foreign Affairs gave me to understand yesterday (see paragraph 3 of my telegram under reference). The Chinese Government are now in fact themselves making claim to exclusive rights of jurisdiction in respect of the Garden of Remembrance as Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs elaborating application of Chinese Government's attitude said that if for example it should be necessary to call on Hong Kong police to apprehend someone committing an offence inside, the offender would have to be dealt with by a court in Chinese territory and not (repeat not) by British court in Hong Kong territory.

3. His Majesty's Minister expressed regret at this attitude which he thought could not be acceptable to us and which therefore threatened to present serious obstacle at the moment when considerable progress towards settlement seemed to have been made. Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs admitted that this was the case and said that he hoped His Majesty's Government would therefore be prepared to accept instead the original Chinese suggestion of using the whole site for offices of Chinese Special Commissioner which Minister for Foreign Affairs advocated as means of settlement.

4. It seems to us here/....