CO129-628-11 War Damage Compensation- individual claims 1-3-1951 - 31-3-1951 — Page 14

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PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE HONG KONG

GOVERNMENT

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By the draft Japanese Treaty His Majesty's Government is empowered to seize Japanese assets in Colonial, Trust, and Protected Territories. In view of the suffering caused by the Japanese in the territories which they over-ran His Majesty's Government proposed to apply the assets in over-run territories for the benefit of these territories. The Secretary of State has drawn the attention of this Govern- ment to the fact that certain small territories in the Western Pacific which suffered very severdy under the Japanese have no such assets. Accordingly while the Secretary of State indicates that the bulk of the local Japanese assets will be made available for Hong Kong he suggests that a certain portion should be made available for less fortunate territories. Government is in agreement with this suggestion.

This

It is estimated that the assets available for Hong Kong will be over $20 millions. The Secretary of State, after consultation with the Governor, has decided that $16 millions of this should be devoted to the establishment of an endowment fund for the Hong Kong University, the efficient functioning of which is being gravely prejudiced by lack of funds, to such an extent that it is now faced with an annual deficit of over a million dollars. In making this decision the Secretary of State has expressed the confident hope that a proportion of the income from the fund so created will be applied towards the provision annually of an adequate number of scholarships at the University for the benefit of local boys and girls and that funds, required for other urgent needs of the University such as a new library and the provision of further scholarships, will be raised by local subscription. The remaining Japanese assets would be available for such other purposes as would be of benefit to the whole community and the Governor proposed to set up a committee on which there would be an unofficial majority to advise him in consultation with the Secretary of State as to how best the money could be used.