(118281) Dd. 391599 1,500M 2/69 Hw.
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry
N. HK K 21/6
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Letter
DRAFT
Type 1 +
From
To:-
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
E. 0. Laird
Mr. Wm. W. Y. Lee,
First Floor,
3/4 Bevis Marks,
London, E.C.3.
Mr. Royle
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
You will remember that when we had lunch together
some weeks ago Mr. Pao suggested that if ships on the
Hong Kong Register could be permitted to sail with
senior officers not of British nationality the obstacle
in the way of registering his ships in Hong Kong would
be removed.
When Sir David Trench was in London last week I
mentioned this point to him, and he told me that while
it was true that Section 2(1) of the Hong Kong Merchant
Shipping (Aliens Employment) Ordinance provided that
no alien should act as Master, Chief Officer or
Chief Engineer of a British ship of over 60 tons net
register tonnage registered in the Colony,
ion
that
prohibition did not apply to any person who held a
valid certificate of exemption granted by the Governor.
It seems, therefore, that the law, as it stands,
already provides a solution to the problem as Mr.Pao
put it to me.
As you know, I shall be seeing Mr. Pao again Thursday.
in ten days or so. I should, therefore, be grateful
if you could show him this letter before then so that
we consider the matter further at that meeting.
Page 15Page 16
Mr. Laird.