CO537-3711 — Page 69

Paper F attached

Convention of 1898, the City of Kowloon is

expressly reserved to Chinese jurisdiction.

This is supported by reference-to the policy of

other Conventions of 1898 under which China

leased territory to foreign powers. A Foreign

Office memorandum on this aspect of the matter is

attached hereto. The Chinese note referring

to the words of the Convention which speak of

"Chinese officials now stationed there" and

requiring them to exercise their jurisdiction

in a manner consistent with the military require-

ments for the defence of Hong Kong, says that

these words cannot logically be taken to mean

only the persons then holding office in the

City and not to include all their successors.

It points out that there is no provision in the

Convention for the withdrawal of the Chinese

officials, and emphasises the distinction with

the remainder of the newly leased territory over

which Great Britain is to have sole jurisdiction,

and argues that this implies that within Kowloon

Great Britain is not empowered to exercise such

jurisdiction. The note adds that the Chinese

Government has never renounced jurisdiction over

Kowloon. The argument in the note concludes

by referring to the circumstances in which the

leases of 1898 were granted. It says:

"Unable to resist the successive rival

demands from the Powers who were each seeking

a sphere of influence on the Asiatic

mainland, the Chinese Government secured

a minimum reservation in each of the leases

where a local Government was functioning

in the form of a special area over which

China should continue to exercise juris-

diction."

In other/

NOTHING TO

BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN.