CO129-544-14 Proposed public park in Kowloon- question of Chinese jurisdiction in city area 9-8-1933 - 9-8-1933 — Page 4

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23. 8:

2. F.0. 5490/2398/10

Peking 967.

Removal of Chinese residents

in Kowloon City.

The letter from the Foreign Affairs

Department at Canton to His Majesty's Consul

General in that city is of an earlier date

than His Majesty's Minister's telegram No.1,

and we cannot be sure that the basis of the

protest by the Nanking authority is the same as

that of the Centon Government.

The latter take their stand on the

third clause in the 1898 Convention.

If so,

that may be a necessary face-saving step in

the diplomatic game - a formal protest necessary

for the reason that the Chinese authority has

never recognised any modification of the 1898

Conventior.

The facts are that after the

conclusion of the Convention steps were taken

by the Hong Kong Government to assume British

Control over the new territory in April 1899.

The British party met with armed resistance

in the village of Kowloon and a certain amount

of fighting and violence took place before

the British position was established.

We were satisfied that this resistance

was attributable to the Chinese authorities in

Canton and we decided not to permit the

resumption of Chinese Civil authority in Kowloon.

The Chinese Minister in London was told of

this decision by the Foreign Office in a Note

of the 30th May, 1899 (flagged in Eastern 66

below).

On