Evening star., 1949-05-15

ore o. tie grAseSt - Hons kcsaS
Tire South China caaA Britain
oll!ty ot trouble. for LAND SKA
10 YrIntorce tho exgS;3rg saEs ~
has announced caIegossea We
wtll defend Hons koag
A strong Official attitude b,
London is timely. for Britain = ma
terial stake IN Hoag kotls = giwa'
while its prestige alike IL Chl1Ha
and elsewhere In the Far kASl Il
deeply involved Throughout thu
Orient, face is vitality important
And Britain face already dam
aged IN the late War, has jus
taken a humillallng slap from tia'
Communists IN their Nheillnx oi
British Warships on the Vans t1g
River. The Communists are tl.A.
tying Britain and Tire Cnltrt
States. telling them 10 set oat q!
China and broadly hinling iha'
they Will be thrown out :! theS
do not voluntarily depart SO "a;
as China Itself IS concerned. Lon
don and Washington are alike
walking waTliy and dong gAeli
best not 10 become emntulied II
Chinese internal affairs They
display no intention Of tangilug
with the Communists anyW here
on Chinese soil The way Iheig
naval forces have left ShAnehaI
in advance Of the Communist al
rival in the Chinese metropolis
shows their desire 10 avoid un-
pleasant complications,
Legally British
But Hong kong is not part Of
China. II is British territory
which has been legally British for
more than a hundred years, And
in that century Of possession
Britain has made II one of tht
brightest Jewels in the British
crown. To abandon Hong kone
would be a material and mora!
blow whose consequences could
be as disastrous as they would be
far-reaching
The island O! Hong Kong was
ceded TO Britain by the Imperial
Government OF China in the year
l84l This was one Of the fruits
OF victory reaped by the British
ina brief war between the two
countries. the first in q series Of
conflicts between the Western
powers and China during the
10Th century over foreign rights
TO trade and travel in the Celestial
Empire.
| At first sign, Hong Kons did
not look like much. 1t was n
mountainous. barren island with
an evil reputation as an abode OF
pirates. But 1t possessed a fine
harbor In the stretch OF deep
sheltered water which lay between
its northern shore and a rocky
peninsula jutting Out from tht
adjacent mainland. named kow
loon. What made that harbor po-
tentially valuable was It's position
at the mouth OF the estuary lead
/ ing TO Canton. the trade metrop-
oils OF South China, At any rate
the British soon showed what
could be made OF Hong Kong Not
only did 1t become their base for
trade with South China, IL rapid
ly developed into q major port OF
call for commercial shipping
throughout the Far East. From
( the first. II was a free port. '
which meant that trade was ex-
empt from all tariffs or excise
duties. Within generation. Hong
Kong was a fiourishing city. u
monument to Western enterprise
created literally out OF nothing
Just as Shanghai was developed
from a desolate mudbank into the
greatest trade metropolis OF Asia
Peninsula Coded
/ In 1860. as a result OF another
war between China and the West
ern powers. the peninsula oi
Kowloon vas ceded 10 the colony
| likewise in full sovereignty. both
sides OF the farbor thus becoming
British territory. The final ex-
pansion occurred in 1898. when q
block Of mainland territory be-
hind KoRIoon with an area OF
about 300 square miles was ac-
aulred by the colony on as-year
lease. The chief reasons for this
transaction were TO get an ade-
quate water supply and food
growing land for Hong kong s
rapidly growing population.
II is interesting TO note that the
overwhelming majority of that
population is Chinese. Hong
Kong. where British order. even
| handed justice ard efbcIsni
economical administration assured
peace and prosperity. VAS an al
Turing contrast 10 the decrep!t
Manchu empire. already shaken
/ by the unrest which eliminated a
decade later In the revolution that
overthrew the dynasty and un-
leashed new troubles still going
on. So Chinese merchants. bank
ers and laborers hocked to the
colony. there 10 prosper and enjoy
undisturbed the fruits OF their ef-
forts. BY the turn Of the century
the population was 200 600. BY
1910 IL had exceeded 900 900
Today it must be fully 2.oo0 o01
And swarrns Of refugees from vaT-
torn China continue 10 pour IN
for sanctuary.
Hong Kong's prosperity waa
temporarily interrupted when tfae
Japanese oyeTeaEne the xsnali Brit
isil garrison in ies2. But the
damage done by the japanese
> a