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Note of a discussion with Dr. Li Shu-Fan
on the 10th February,
1944.
10
:'
Dr. Li Shu-Fan called at the Colonial ffice this morning to have a general talk on matters connected with the Far Mast. Mr. Gent, Mr. Paskin, Mr. N. L. Smith and Dr. Purcell, together with Sir Arthur Blackburn and Mr. G. P. Young from the Foreign Office, were present.
Conversation covered a wide variety of topics, the
most important of which are summarised below.
1.
The future status of Hong Kong.
In reply to a question whether he could give us any guidance as to the likely line of future Chinese policy of Chinese communities in British territories such as Hong Kong, Malaya and Borneo, Dr. Li explained that he could not be taken as expressing an official Chinese Government view; nevertheless, owing to his early association with
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, he had played his part in the foundation of the Chinese Republic, and after his return to Hong Kong, had maintained a close association with leading Chinese Government circles.
On his escape from the Colony, he had been the house guest of Dr. T.V. Soong, the Chinese Foreign Minister, for nearly 4 months, and in course of that time had gone into frequent contact with Chinese Ministers and officials (he mentioned in particular Dr. Sun Fo, General Vu Ten Cheng and Mr. Wang Chung-Hui), during which the question of Hong Kong ne inevitably come up. He would describe the prevalent feeling in China as being dominated by an intense sense of Nationalism, which gained its inspiration from the teaching of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the guidance of the Generalissimo, and as a particular application of this feeling, it was commonly considered that China was entitled to the rendition of Hong Kong. There was indeed an expectation that Great Britain would restore the territory to China as a mark of goodwill.
In reply to a question, Dr. Li said that he did not come across so strong a sentiment in regard to the restoration of Macao, but it seemed to be assumed that China would somehow or other recover this territury too. There even seemed to be an expectation that the Japanese would facilitate this by turning the Portuguese out of their Colony and handing it over to the Nanking Government. He added however that the Japanese had shown no sign of giving Hong Kong to the Nanking authorities.
Questioned on the feeling on the point within Hong Kong, Dr. Li drew a distinction between the transient population of the Colony and those Chinese who were born and nad property interests there. Among the first category, feeling, so far as it existed at all, was probably similar to that in China proper. A high percentage of the second category, however, felt considerable qualms whether they would find under Chinese Government the security for their property which they had found in the past under British rule. were, in fact, doubtful whetner post-war China would be a land
They of law and order. Dr. Li appeared, however, to doubt whether their feelings on this point were as intense as the opposite sentiments held in Chungking circles, and he evaded a request for his own personal views as a Hong Kong property owner on the point.
In
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