CO537-4999 — Page 257

PARLIAMENT

Business in

the House of Commons

Business in the House of Lords

CHINA

Despatch of Reinforcements to Hong Kong

(Previous

Reference:

1. The Cabinet were informed of the business to be taken in the House of Commons in the following week.

When the Third Reading of the Iron and Steel Bill was taken on 9th May, the debate would be opened by the Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Supply, (Mr. J. H. Jones, M. P.) and the Minister of Supply would reply to the debate.

On the Second Reading of the Ireland Bill on 11th May the Government spokesmen would be the Prime Minister and the Lord President. The Attorney-General would also speak if legal points were raised on which a Government reply was required. The Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations would speak for the Government on the Committee and remaining stages of this Bill.

The Cabinet approved the terms of the motion welcoming the North Atlantic Treaty, which the House of Commons would be invited to pass on 12th May. The Foreign Secretary would open that debate; and the con- cluding speech on behalf of the Government would be made, according to the course of the debate, either by the Prime Minister or by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

The Cabinet were informed that the House of Lords proposed to devote two days to the debate on the Second Reading of the Iron and Steel Bill.

It now seemed likely that the Opposition would not seek to reject this Bill on Second Reading.

The Cabinet agreed that, subject to considera- tion of the precedents by the Chief Whip, it should not be necessary for the House of Lords to pass a formal motion approving the North Atlantic Treaty.

2.

(:5)

The Cabinet had before them a note by the Prime Minister (C. P. (49) 100) covering an appreciation by the Chiefs of Staff of the extent of the threat which was likely to develop against Hong Kong and of the forces which would be required to meet that threat.

C. M. (49) 30th 55 Conclusions, Minute 4)

30ti (55)

In discussion, the following points were made: a) The Chiefs of Staff had set out the reinforce- ments which would be required to deal with any internal unrest or sporadic guerilla attacks, and they had indicated further reinforcements which would be required if a large-scale Communist threat developed. In making these appreciations they had it in mind that, although the Communist armies in China were greatly superior to former Chinese armies, they were not likely to constitute a threat of the kind which would develop if a major power, such as Russia, attacked the Colony.

(b) The British community in Hong Kong felt great uncertainty about the Government's ultimate intentions in regard to the Colony and the morale of the Chinese in Hong Kong was low. In these circumstances the Governor of Hong Kong and the Commissioner General for South-East Asia had both urged that the Government should go as far as practicable in the direction of declaring their intention to maintain Hong Kong as a British Colony. Any suggestion that the United Kingdom Government might abandon Hong Kong would have profound repercussions in Malaya, Siam and Burma.

-1-