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الله
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21/12
Done J
A
22/12
CONFIDENTIAL
sir,
Government House.
Hong-Kong, 8th. October, 1898.
385
395
In case a newspaper rumour may reach England
on the subject, I have the honour briefly to detail the case
of Kang Yu Wei, the Reformer and Adviser of the Emperor of China, in his recent attempts to sweep away abuses, Kang Yu Wel, apprised by the Emperor of the danger that threatened, managed to get out of Pekin and embark on a steamer for Shang- hai. This Steamer was duly boarded at Shanghai by the Chinese officials to arrest him, but before their arrival Kang Yu Wei had been transferred to the P & 0 5.S. "Ballaarat". As the Chi- nese Authorities had searched every ship from Tientsin that came in for this man, and as a fast Chinese Gunboat was lying with steam up at Woosung ready to follow the Ballaarat", and as it was stated that two other gun hoats were ready to inter- cept her in the neighbourhood of Foochow, H.M.S. "Bonaventure" convoyed the "Ballaarat" to Hong-Kong to avoid any interna- tional complication that might arise from an attempt to vio- late our flag and to search the ship.
On arrival at Hong-Kong, I offered Kang Yu Wei ̧
if he dreaded assasinationor being got at by poison, accommo-
The Right Honourable
JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN, M.P.
dation