CO129-592-8 Future Policy in Hong Kong 1-1-1945 - 26-11-1945 — Page 59

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THE STATUS OF HONG KONG

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The Colony of Hong Kong comprises three areas:-

(a) The island of Hong Kong, ceded outright to Great

Britain by the Nanking Treaty of 1842.

(b) Part of the Kowloon Peninsula opposite Hong Kong,

ceded outright by the Peking Convention of 1860.

(c) The New Territories, leased for 99 years by the

Peking Convention of 1898. They include part of the mainland and a number of islands in the vicinity, of a total area of 360 square miles.

The reason for the lease of the New Territories, as stated in the preamble to the Convention, was that an extension of Hong Kong territory was necessary for the proper defence and protection of the colony. What has now become an equally important factor is that the main water supply of Hong Kong is in the New Territories. The only airport of the colony (Kai Tak) is also situated in the New Territories, and into this area also now extend the docks and the streets and buildings of Kowloon.

3. In the course of the negotiations which preceded the abolition of extra-territoriality in China, the Chinese Government made a request for the return of the New Territories His Majesty's Government refused to consider this question in connection with extra-territoriality, but agreed that it might be discussed with the Chinese Government after the war.

4. The most recent statement of Chinese policy in regard to Hong Kong was contained in the following passage from a speech by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek on the 24th August:-

"China will not use the occasion of Japan's unconditional surrender as a pretext for disregarding international agree- ments and infringing upon the rights of our allies. We will not take advantage of this opportunity to despatch troops to take over Hong Kong, nor will we provoke misunderstanding among our allies. I wish to state here that the present status of Hong Kong is regulated by a treaty signed by China and Great Britain. Changes in future will be introduced only through friendly negotiations between the two countries. Our foreign policy is to honour treaties, rely upon law and seek rational read jus tme..ts when the requirements of time and actual conditions demand such readjustments. Now that all the leased territories and settlements in China have been one after another returned to China, the leased territory of Kowloon should not remain an exception. But China will settle this last issue through diplomatic talks between the two countries."

5. It is evident from this that the question of terminating the agreement of 1898 for the lease of the "New Territories" referred to in paragraph 1(c) above will be raised in the near future by the Chinese Government.

6. At no time have the Chinese Government raised the question of the status of Hong Kong as a whole, but it is generally recognised that their ultimate object is the "recovery" of the whole colony ceded to Great Britain in 1842 and 1860. The Generalissimo, in his book "China's Destiny", published in 1943, made it clear that Hong Kong is regarded as properly belonging to China and its recovery is merely being postponed.