CO129-580-2 Sino-Japanese War- British policy and reactions in Hong Kong and Malaya 27-7-1939 - 3-2-1940 — Page 94

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The meeting passed a resolution that telegrams, of the

B

see above be sent to leaders in

exact wording as that sent to various parliamentarians by

Mr. Tan Kah Kee,

Great Britain. The choice of recipients of the telegrams

was left to the discretion of Mr. Tan Kah Kee and his legal

advisers. (Note: The legal work of the Singapore China

Relief Fund Committee is done by Mr. Richard Chuan Hoe Lim, a Penang-born barrister and a member of the Singapore

Municipal Commission.)

On the 26th July, the Union Times published a telegram

received by the Singapore Chinese Consulate-General from

the Chinese Foreign Ministry stating that, as a signatory

of the Nine-Power Treaty, Britain would abide by the

international code by upholding right and would not

surrender to might. Overseas Chinese should not believe

the malicious propaganda issued by the Japanese militarists and should do their best to promote friendly relations

with other countries.

Meetings of Chinese representatives of public bodies were

held in the principal towns throughout Malaya, in Penang

on the 26th, in Kuala Lumpur and Malacca on the 27th,

and in Ipoh on the 30th. The Negri Sembilan China Relief

Fund Committee proposed to call a similar meeting on the 30th July but the proposal was dropped when the contents

of the telegram from the Chinese Foreign Office to the

Chinese Consul-General became known,

The Penang meeting decided to send four telegrams; one to Chiang Kai Shek, one to Mr. Chamberlain, the third to the

China Campaign Movement in London and the fourth to the

leading London newspapers. The last three were sent

through the Chinese Ambassador in London. The texts of

the telegrams were as follows:-