CO129-588-24 China- British extra-territorial rights- negotiations with China 23-11-1942 - 1-1-1943 — Page 4

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There are two particular outstanding points affecting the Colonies in connection with the negotia- tions with China over the abolition of British extra- territorial rights in China.

(1) The New Territories (leased) of Hong Kong. Following on my letter to Mr. Ashley Clarke of 27th November (flagged Q in the Part I file immediately below), he has telephoned to me to say that as the Ministers of the principal departments of H.M.G. concerned are being personally engaged in the various decisions to be taken in the negotiations, the Foreign Office thought that it might be unnecessary to refer specifically to the War Cabinet. Nevertheless, if Colonel Stanley thinks it is desirable, they will be quite ready to put in a short submission to the Cabinet to secure approval. In that case, they would be glad if we would send them an official letter to suggest reference to the Cabinet. The particular matter relating to the New Territories of Hong Kong is the draft Foreign Office reply to the Chinese (flagged X in file below) on their demand that the treaty should contain provision for the termination of the 1898 lease of those Territories. We quite agree, of course, that the Chinese should be told that the matter of the New Territories is quite outside the scope of the present treaty; the Foreign Office propose to go on to say as in para. 2 of that draft telegram, and in particular to promise now, in writing, to the Chinese Government that we shall be ready in due course in those circumstances to consider with them what should be the new status of the New Territories during the currency of the lease (99 years from 1898). The Foreign Office base this offer on the draft statement of Colonial Office policy in regard to Far Eastern territories, which was under consideration by Ministers three months ago. The particular passage concerned is para. 5 of the memorandum in No. 27 in 55104/42 flagged Y in that file below. The Colonial Office in that memorandum did in fact go further than the present Foreign Office draft, for

(a) we did not confine ourselves to the New Territories only, but included the whole future position in Hong Kong;

(b) we volunteered that we would not, for our part, regard the maintenance of British sovereignty of the Colony as a matter beyond the scope of discussion.

Compared with this, the Foreign Office draft merely states that we shall be ready to consider with the Chinese Government what should be the future status of the New Territories during the currency of the lease; that seems to me so non-committal that I should not have thought it required special reference to the War Cabinet. May we now write further to Mr. Ashley Clarke to say that in our view the terms which the Foreign Office are proposing to use fall so far short of the terms in the Colonial Office memorandum of August that the Secretary of state would not think it necessary to refer to the War Cabinet on that point, but that he, for his part, is ready to agree with the draft telegram to H.M. Ambassador at Chungking:(ded that the leased part of Hong Kong territory is known as the New Territories)?

(2)