CO129-562-20 Whompoa Port- development 19-2-1937 - 4-4-1938 — Page 30

MINUTES OF INTERVIEW AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE

HONG KONG, MARCH 26th, 1937.

Present:

H. M. Ambassador

H.E. The Governor

Mr. Blackburn

Mr. Pelham

and Colonel Li Fong (Secretary of the Mayor

of Canton).

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The Ambassador, addressing Colonel Li, said he

had been thinking over the subjects which Colonel Li had

mentioned to him on behalf of the Mayor of Canton in the course of conversations regarding co-operation. Some of these were of general importance and concerned H. M.

Government in the United Kingdom, and some were of

direct interest to the Government of Hong Kong. The

Mayor had in particular mentioned three specific points,

namely:

(1) Establishment of a liaison committee between

Hong Kong and Canton;

(2) Expansion of the scope of British collabora-

tion in Chinese development schemes;

(3) Collaboration in connection with the Whampoa

Port scheme.

In general the Ambassador could say that British interests were only too anxious to expand the scope of their assistance in Chinese development schemes. We

should be happy to examine as ordinary business propo-

sitions any which were submitted to us, but it was for

the Chinese side to put forward their proposals; we

could not do that for them. As far as liaison was

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