CO129-586-5 Centenary of the occupation of Hong Kong 8-7-1940 - 26-1-1941 — Page 18

53952/40.

TO

CODE TELEGRAM.

0.A.G.

HONG KONG,

12.00 hrs.

Sent 25th January, 1941.

MOST IMMEDIATE.

No. 68.

18

I am happy to send you my warm congratulations on the hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the Colony of Hong Kong. The times are not propitious for any elaborate celebration of the centenary, but I know that the ceremonies by which you intend to mark the occasion will express to the full the pride we can justly feel in the achievements of a hundred eventful years.

The scene which a hundred years ago mat the eyes of the small British landing party was that of a desolate barren island with a skyline of high broken peaks, Today they would recognise only the skyline: they would see with admiration, though not perhaps with surprise, a great port, with modern docks and harves, a flourishing commercial and administrative capital, and a well armed fortress. These are the monuments which honour, more eloquently than any words, those who for the first 100 years of British rule guided the destinies of the Colony and raised it to a proud place in the forefront of the great world centres of trade, finance and industry.

These achievements have been built on the firm and sure foundation of co-operation between the British and Chinese peoples, This co-operation has not been and cannot be limited to the confines of the Colony. Hong Kong, with its shipping and trading interests, with the fine conception of its University, with its traditions of order and culture, humanity and tolerance, cannot fail to wield a wide, powerful, and growing influence in the Far East; it must look far

beyond its own borders to fulfil its true destiny.

Hong Kong has been a fortress for many years. During the perils we have lately experienced we too have come to think of Great Britain as a fortress. From that fortress I send you this message of greeting and congratulation: and I add our thanks for the generous

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gifts you have made to us and the messages of encouragement and support you have sent to us. They hearten us against whatever trials may lie ahead. They are a happy augury for the future, when we shall embark on our common task of rebuilding in the days of peace.