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Enclosure 3 in No.
Extract from the "South China Morning Post" of the 22nd October, 1928.
THE MUI-TSAI SCANDAL.
Local Society's Petition to Government urging enforcement of Law.
Registration and an Age Limit.
A new attack on the mui-tsai system in Hong Kong was launched on the occasion of the annual meeting of the local Anti-Mui-tsai Society, on Saturday. The Chair- man, claiming that the system was still in full operation in the Colony, urged the enforcement of registration provided for in the Ordinance of 1923.
Draft proposals to be submitted to the Government include the conferment of full freedom on all existing mui-tsai on their reaching the age of 18, the payment of wages to these girls, and the registration of deeds of adoption, to ensure that they are bona fide.
The annual report states that further public support in the way of finance will be welcomed.
Addressing the large gathering of members, the Chairman, Mr. Yeung Shui-chuen, said :-
"
'Ladies and gentlemen, the annual meeting of the Society to-day is one which differs slightly from its predecessors, because in addition to giving you a report on the work of the past year, together with the accounts, we are going to elect new officials, and also consider a proposal that, since the Society has been established for six years and seven months, the regulations drawn up such a long time ago may not be suitable for the requirements of to-day.
"The large attendance to-day proves the enthusiasm and sincerity of the public in response to the call for humanitarian work.
"Since the resignation of our first chairman, Mr. J. M. Wong, I have had the honour of occupying the post for the past few years, but regret to say that what we have accomplished during this period towards reaching our goal has been insig- nificant. It is my desire that someone else be elected to the post to-day, and that the mui-tsai system may be abolished for ever.
Petition to Government.
Another factor which I wish to emphasise is that, with the approval and support of you gentlemen, the Society intends to petition the Hong Kong Government to enforce the Female Domestic Service Ordinance of 1923. What the Association most sincerely desires is that all owners of mui-tsai should register the latter at the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, and also fix the amount of wages to be paid to mui-tsai.
It will be recalled that some time ago I, for one, believed that the registration of mui-tsai could be postponed, for on the 14th of April, 1922, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs prohibited the purchasing and using of mui-tsai. Meanwhile the Magistracy displayed severity in the imposing of sentences for cruelty to mui-tsai by master or mistress. The effect of all this was that the majority of these who possessed mui-tsai took precautions, and showed consideration in their treatment. We then believed that this inhuman system would be abandoned once and for all, and that it might not be necessary for the Association to continue to function any longer.
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Unfortunately, the outcome was not what we expected, and recently it has been reliably learned that the practice of the system is continuing in Chinese circles, with the exception, perhaps, that the owners exercised some discretion.
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Despite these deplorable reports, we have comforted ourselves with the belief that the practice having been in force for many years in the past, could not be discarded in such a short time.
Effect of Propaganda.
We decided to give the owners of mui-tsai the opportunity to abandon their old habits gradually, and simultaneously the Society did its utmost to disseminate propaganda in newspapers and other directions, to enlighten the public on the many evils pertaining to the system. The propaganda in some cases produced wonderful results, and succeeded in bringing justice to those mui-tsai who were ill-treated, whilst in other cases they were able to go back to their parents.
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Though the Society has all the time continued with its work, some years have elapsed and the much-disapproved of system continues unhampered. What is most regrettable is that the number of mui-tsai who have personally come to the Society giving reports of cruelty shows an increase.
"In addition, every month there are letters addressed to the Society informing us of many cases of ill-treatment of this class of unfortunate souls. Most of these letters fail to give the names and addresses of the inconsiderate master and mistress, thus the Society has not been able to take any effective steps.
"Now we have all come to the realisation that if we do not petition the Govern- ment to enforce registration of mui-tsai, the system will most certainly continue. In other words if the Society fails in carrying out this movement, our work of the past six or seven years can be said to have been ruined and nothing, in fact, will have been done."
The Chairman next referred in some detail to the statement, made in March, 1923, by the spokesman of the London Colonial Office, in answer to a question in the House of Commons declaring that he had indicated to the then Governor of Hong Kong that he wished that the mui-tsai system be regulated within a year's time.
The Pros. and Cons.
The Chairman then stated that objections to the registration of mui-tsai were principally as follows:-
1. It was feared by some that the men sent to visit houses to carry out registration would extort money or receive bribes from the masters of the mui-tsai, but careful
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