CO129-579-10 Sino-Japanese War- quarterly reports of Japanese activities 25-1-1939 - 1-2-1940 — Page 11

CO129 Colonial Office Hong Kong Records 理藩院香港檔案 All

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included a Parliamentary Councellor of the Foreign

Office, a former Cabinet Minister, an administrative

Secretary of the Foreign Office communications branch,

an agricultural professor, officials of the Sino-Japanese

Culture Institute, economic research investigators and

a number of "developers" working under the China Affairs

Board in the names of the Asia Development Company, the

Formosa Development Company, the FUK TAI Company and the

China Development Company. The Board has an agent in

Hong Kong and a travelling inspector is no bound for

Hainan to start a branch there. The FUK TAI Company, a

subsidiary of the Formosa Development Company "orking

under the auspices of the China Affairs Board is going

to double its capital with the object of coming in on

the developing of South China industries, "ith the

assistance of the Japanese Military Authorities".

Following the gathering of these officials

there were reports of renewed efforts to establish a

puppet regime in Cant on and as a beginning FENG TUN

YUAN, ex naval officer and railway official was

installed as Mayor of Canton on 20.11.39. The population of

Canton was then claimed to be 800,000 and the Chinese

interests attempted to cause panics there by reports of

press gangs and forced labour and the Japanese retaliated

with more anti-Chiang Kai Shek propaganda, and in one

case an anti-British pamphlet was seen. The official

Japanese propagandist at Hong Kong went North "for

further instructions" in October. He operates the

Japanese semi-official organs The Hong Kong Nippo in

Japanese (5 cents daily), The Hong Kong Nippo in Chinese

(daily, face value 50 cents a month but it is distributed

free to Chinese addresses), and The Hong Kong News in

English (5 cents weekly).

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