CO129-590-25 Accounts of events leading up to surrender and subsequent treatment of prisoners- etc 23-4-1942 - 28-9-1943 — Page 201

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20.

H.K.'s gates remained largely untapped.

Whatever the

difficulties (and they were obviously considerable) in the

way of arming at least a part of these potential allies

beforehand, that we did not long ago make the attempt forced

many Chinese to the conclusion that they were not trusted. They even began to think that the British preferred to lose H.K.

than to defend it successfully with the help of Chinese arms.

They say now in China that if only we had made up our minds

to trust them sooner, we need never have asked our soldiers

to face the desperate and hopeless odds which confronted them last December. For my own part, I agree with the Chinese.