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PARAPHRASE TELEGRAM:
From the Governor of HongKong to the
Secretary of State for the Colonies.
(Dated 5th July)
(Received Colonial Office 5.40 p.m. 5th July, 1925.)
504
Secret. Chinese situation.
On July 1st I telegraphed to His Majesty's Charge d'Affaires Peking in following terms message begins - Taui Leung (Giles 1912 Nos.7017 and 4748) has brought me a letter from Yunan from Tang Chi Yao stating that in his opinion it is essential that Bolshevists should be ejected from Canton as quickly as possible; and that he has under his command in Kwangsi Kiangsi and S.Kwantung
a force of 80,000 men but in the need of funds and munitions. Letter proceeds with a request for assistance from HongKong and states that French are affording substantial aid. Feng Yu-Hsiang is in Soviet pay and Tang is in close touch with Chang Tso-Lin and Wu Pei-fu who are combining against Feng. I have informed Tsui that while this Government concurs in the importance of freeing China from Bolshevism HongKong cannot depart from the recognised policy of preserving a neutral attitude in Chinese political affairs and so is unable to afford assistance. It is Tsui's intention to call on you at Peking, and I should like to know whether I may say that you will receive him. Majority of Cantonese are against Bolshevism so it is on the cards that they will themselves eject Bolshevists; but if they do not the only alternative to armed intervention by the Powers seems to be some such combination as that which Tang suggests message ends.
I have now received the following reply from His Majesty's
/
Chargé d'Affaires Peking message begins. There is no chance
of British assistance so no useful purpose would be served
by
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