CO537-3715 — Page 65

Secretariat Reference No. 1170/47s

SAVINGRAM

To

Secretary of State for the Colonies

From the Governor, Hong Kong. (R)

Special Commissioner,

Singapore, No. 644

Date 13

March, 1948.

No. 18

SECRET

British Embassy,

Nanking, No. #3. Consul-General

Canton No..34

9

Х

Following is a political appreciation for Hong Kong for the two weeks ending 8th March, 1948.

•

Negotiations continue between H.M. Government and the Chinese Government for a settlement of the Kowloon City question. Local opinion generally is puzzled by the absence of any announce- ment foreshadowing a settlement.

2. The two men arrested and sentenced in January for resisting the police when the squatters in Kowloon City were ejected are due for release from gaol on March 13th. There are indications that they may be feted on their release, and that the occasion will be utilised to revive moral and financial support for the squatters who still remain encamped in the area.

3. The more responsible sections of the Hong Kong press have ceased to play up the Kowloon City case, but it is not forgotten, and the "Kowloon City Residents Association" is doing its best to keep the question before the public eye, both in Hong Kong and Canton. Two delegates recently visited Canton to seek financial help and rice from the Kwangtung Provincial authorities.

Les.X

4. The China Democratic League in Hong Kong has issued a statement refuting the charges made on February 26th by General WU TEH-CHEN, Secretary General of the Kuomintang, and HOLLINGTON TONG, that they are "Communists in disguise". Branding them as Communists was merely an excuse for persecuting them. The statement besides making the usual attack on the United States for allegedly seeking bases in China, building up Japan, etc., also emphasised that "the majority of the members of the Central Executive Committee of the League took part in the Third Plenary Session of the Committee held in Hong Kong in January, 1948, and the decisions of this session have had the full support of League members everywhere". The protestations of independence from Communist affiliations lose some strength in the light of the very warm message from the Chinese Communist Government welcoming the establishment of China Democratic League Headquarters in Hong Kong. A battle for the soul of the China Democratic League as between the real liberal elements and the fellow-travellers who seek control of it may be expected to develop. Indications are that the left-wing elements will align themselves more openly with the Communists, and the liberal middle- of-the-road elements may tend towards Marshal LI CHAT-SUM's Kuomintang Revolutionary Committee. The latter body are believed to be supporting a new weekly called HSING CHI PAO (

), which

made its first appearance on February 8th and is strongly critical of the Nanking Government. It has been banned by the Canton Authorities.

5. A significant example of "liberal" figureheads being utilised and eventually cajoled into the Communist camp is afforded by the case of CHU'HSUEH-FAN, the Chinese labour leader, whose adherence to the Communists has been announced from Harbin. CHU, formerly Chairman of the Chinese Association of Labour, a moderate group recognised by British and American labour circles, came to Hong Kong from Shanghai early in 1947, and was disavowed by the

Page 65Page 66