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Hongkong on the matter. It was purely a question of courtesy between two friendly powers to be decided and granted at the diplomatic level.
Ho A-mei was convinced that a Chinese consul would conform to all the usages and practices of other consuls. He asked “Where then does his interference with the function of Government come in?”
The fears expressed by the expatriates have no foundation: “The assertion that he will usurp the power of the Government is an extravagant idea.”
The reasons which had been given for opposing the consul were based on the premise that the Chinese were not trustworthy.
This was not so, claimed Ho A-mei, who said: “The Chinese, whether great or small traders, all have a regard for their person and property and have been always content with their lot and have carried on business in a peaceful manner.
They are not troublemakers. Ho A-mei asked: “Are they to be likened to men belonging to the religious or secret societies in the interior of China, the majority of whom are persons of no occupation and are apt to create disturbances and commit robberies and murders?”
The Hongkong Chinese merchant deserved to be viewed not with suspicion but as peaceful, useful members of the community.
The right to have a Chinese consul in Hongkong was a matter of national honour and pride.
“All Chinese,” Ho A-mei wrote, “who have any national blood in them will not wish, I am sure, that other nations should have their consuls here while we should have none.”
He reminded his readers that Hongkong had opposed the measure on several previous occasions. On those occasions, the Chinese were not consulted. Now the foreigner was appealing to them