HONG KONG

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23288, 25 August 1945, Page 5

HONG KONG

British Will Accept Surrender Future Administration By Telegraph —N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright _ CHUNGKING. August 23. Major-General A. C. Wedemeyer, Commander of the American Forces in China, said that the British and Chinese Governments were negotiating as to whose forces shall occupy Hong Kong and accept the Japanese surrender. General Wedemeyer has ordered United States forces in China not to fraternise with the Japanese. He added that all contacts must be official, courteous, impersonal and firm. Arrangements are being made for a British commander to receive the surrender of Hong Kong, said Mr Attlee in the House of Commons, in reply to a question by Mr Churchill. The House cheered when Mr Attlee added that plans for the re-establish-ment of British administration in Hong Kong were fully prepared. Mr Churchill: May I presume that you recall that on numerous occasions, particularly at the Cairo Conference in 1943, the Government made it plain that it did not contemplate any modification in the sovereignty of his Majesty’s territories in the Far East. Mr Attlee: I fully recollect the statements, and will bear them in mind. The diplomatic correspondent of the Press Association says the Hong Kong area is in the sphere of Chinese military operations, but the British Government feels that it is its paramount responsibility to care for the population of its own territory. Dr. T. V. Soong, who is flying to London early next week, has not given notice that he will raise the question of Hong Kong. Americans Chicled Observing that American Liberals are said to be distressed because Mr Bevin did not promise to hand over Hong Kong to the Chinese, the “Manchester Guardian” refers to the security bases held or claimed by other nations. “It is difficult to see,” it adds, “why the British Empire alone should be expected to give up possessions it has managed, not without cost, to retain for the last 100 years. This is not to argue that either Mr Bevin or Mr Attlee, in statements in the House yesterday, said the last word on the subject. It is not enough to strike an attitude and repeat ‘What we have we hold,’ not can we expect to return to our possessions in the Far East as if nothing had happened in the interval. Our retention of bases such as Hong Kong and Singapore can be justified on the grounds of security as much or as little as can the American demand for Saipan and Okinawa, or the Russian wish for Port Arthur, though it is to be hoped that one day all these will become bases of the United Nations. But our retention of Burma, Malaya and other territories in South-east Asia can be justified only by a new and vigorous policy to improve the welfare of native peoples and hasten the time of their self-govern-ment. Burma was mentioned in the House of Commons yesterday, and the Labour Government should show an early indication of its plans in Malaya to balance the “imperialistic” pronouncement that has so despaired our warmhearted Liberal friends across the water." Official Communist sources state that General Chou Enlai will go to Chungking in response to Marshal Chiang Kai-shek’s invitation to send a representative to discuss a peaceful settlement of internal political problems. The Washington correspondent of the “Herald Tribune,” says informed diplomats asserted that the United States does not question British sovereignty over Hong Kong, but feels that the island's future is a matter for the British and Chinese to settle. They said the present policy is at direct odds with the personal beliefs of President Roosevelt, who favoured the termination of British sovereignty over Hong Kong, and envisaged eventual selfgovernment for many Far Eastern territories at present administered by foreign Powers.