CO129-571-9 Sino-Japanese War- Canton-Kowloon railway 25-3-1938 - 28-2-1939 — Page 123

of the railway for railing war supplies to the

Japanese in Canton will inevitably cause a port and

railway strike in Hong Kong thus immeasurably

increasing the supply difficulty in the Colony.

It may be thought that as long as the port

is functioning, Hong Kong can at least rely on the

necessary provisions and the maintenance of a

modicum of trade. On the other hand even if the

railway traffic were to be restored it may be doubted

how much food supply could be imported from Chinese

territory, having regard to the Chinese "scorched

earth" policy and Japanese requisitioning.

Governor's suggestion that an excuse for not restoring

traffic when the line was repaired might be found in

our own requirements for provisioning our troops on

the frontier presumably contemplating a substantial

period of actual hostilities over the border, but in

any event the Chinese retreat has been rapid and

complete as far as the City of Canton itself.

The

It may be supposed to be likely that the

Japanese will take possibly a few weeks to repair the

track and the bridges sufficiently for the running of

trains and it may also be the case that by the

occupation of Canton and the closing of the river to

all except their own shipping, they may not need to

use the railway unless they suspect that a demand to

do so would embarrass us in Hong Kong. Nevertheless

it is necessary for a decision to be reached, as part

of British policy in China, whether we are to maintain

the role of neutrals to the point of railing war

supplies to the Japanese at the almost certain risk,

as we are advised, of serious labour trouble in the

Colony based on Chinese Nationalist sympathies.

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