TNAG-0943-FCO40-1162-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 214

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The

General, that Hong Kong is foreign and not Chinese territory.

problem from the Hong Kong Government's point of view was that the title

Commissioner had been used to describe appointments within China. The

position of the British Consul-General in Shanghai as an office of the

Chargé d'Affaires and not a Consulate was used by the Chinese to support their

request for the appointment of a special commissioner rather than a Consul-

General in Hong Kong. The position of the Shanghai office was specifically

referred to by Chinese officials on a number of occasions, though not

always on a strictly parallel basis.

During 1957 Zhou Enlai reverted to the subject on two occasions. The

first was during an interview with a Labour MP, Mr Warbey. A report of

which was published in the Daily Herald on 12 June. Zhou apparently

referred to the precedent of the Nationalist Chinese representative in

Hong Kong. Remarking that the CPG was "more moderate" than Jiang Jieshi.

(Chiang Kai-shek) Zhou said that when the Nationalist leader was in power

"he declared that the Chinese Governor of Guangzhou was also his repre-

sentative for Hong Kong. This was as good as claiming that Hong Kong came

under his jurisdiction. All we ask for is an official representative in

Hong Kong. Many of our people live there and need our help". In October

Zhou again raised the subject during the visit of Mr Erroll, Parliamentary

Under-Secretary at the Board of Trade. On 29 October Zhou re-iterated the

request for a Chinese representative in Hong Kong, "just as the British

kept a man in Shanghai".

On 25 February 1958 Zhou Enlai again took up the question when

Mr Harold Wilson was paving an unofficial visit to Teking. Isn't it

ridiculous?" said Zhou, that China was represented in Hong Kong only by the reporters of NCNA.

/He

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