"X"
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SURRENDER OF HONG KONG
па
Green
I Meeting Bad Ivery
31st August 1945.
F6064/1147/G+m
Shake
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS said that eff he had received a number of telegrams showing that the Chinese were requiring the surrender of Hong Kong to be attached postponed until after Chiang Kai-Shek had arranged the general surrender in the Chinese theatre with the Japanese Commander-in-Chief. They were also requiring certain undertakings that we should hand over to thom Japanese ships and mechanical transport captured in Hong Kong. So far as he was aware, General Order No.1 has not yet boon amended to include any refurcice to Hong Kong and all that we know on the subject was a message from General MacArthur to Admiral Fraser saying that ho would direct the Japanoso in Hong Kong to surrender to Roar Admiral Harcourt. It was impossible to recede further from the position we had taken, vis-a-vis General Chiang Kai-Shok through some morican action or failure to take action, and he thought it important to clear up boyond doubt that the Japanese had received a straight crdor from Gonoral acarthur.
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs read out a proposed telegram from the Foreign Office to Chungking stating that instructions were being sent to Admiral Harcourt to sign, not only on behalf of His Majesty's Government but equally on behalf of Chiang-Kai-Shek as the Commander-in-Chief, China theatre. He urged that if this telegram was agreed, the Admiralty, when giving parallel instructions to Admiral Harcourt, should repeat tho to Admiral Fraser and instruct him to ask General MacArthur to confirm that instructions have in fact been given to the Japanese in Hong Kong to surrender to Admiral Harcourt, and if General MacArthur had not issued the order to ask that this should be done at once.
THE COMMITTEE:
(a) Approved the telegram as read by the
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and invited the Foreign Office to arrange for its despatch;
(b)
Invited the Admiralty to despatch similar
instructions to Admiral Harcourt, including a request to Admiral Fraser to obtain the necessary assurances at "X" above from General MacArthur.
Sent as No.1032 to Chungking
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