CO129-592-8 Future Policy in Hong Kong 1-1-1945 - 26-11-1945 — Page 77

and into this

area

also now extend the docks and the b

sweets. folday! KOWLION

Apart from the

wider issuer

involved the retrocenia

of the New Territniss

to China would give

Ca

Hong Kong.

54 76

whole comprising (the

the Colony)

The Colony of ilong Kong comprises three areast-

(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, coded outright by the Peking Convention of 1860.

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

Peking Convention of 1896. They include part of the mainland and a number of islands in the vicinity of a total area of 405 square miles.

2. The reason for the leame of the New Territories, 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 air part Ime Colour (Kai Tan) is also serrated the New twistin

3. In the course of the negotiations which preceded the abolition of extraterritoriality in China, the Chinese Goverment made a request for the rendition of the New Territories. His Majesty'a Government refused to consider this question in connexion with extra- territoriality, but agreed that might be discussed with the Chinese Government after the war.] phate what we

aronallys and Ins

4. The most recent statement of Chiness polloy in regard to Hong Kong was contained in the following passage from a speech by Generalissino Chiang Kai-shek on the 24th August:-

"Chine will not use the occasion of Japan's unconditional surrender as a pretext for disregarding international agree...ents 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 anong 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 readjustments when the requirements of time and actual conditions demand such readjustments. Now that all the leased territories and settlements in China have been ons 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.

n

5. It is evident from this that the question of the leased territory of Kowloon (the "New Territories referred to in (0) above) will be raised with us in the near future, and that the Chinese Government will almost certainly Iace up with the proposal that the agreement of 1898 should

be terminated and that the area anould revert to Chinese.

un any complicated) 8overeignty. If Dr. Soong raises the matter, we should problemes in commuction [Perhaps return a/non-eoumistal reply to the effect that the

with the administratim of Hr. which have

not get

been fully

Therefore

/question