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19. Is the central authority in close touch against the evil of traffic in women and children?
with all private organisations fighting
Ins. See the reply to Question 16. The Secretariat for Chinese Affairs is in
close touch with these organisations.
Please state the
seem that the central 19. From the annual reports of your Government, it would authority had occasion to correspond with foreign authorities in only a few cases. reason for the scarcity of these exchanges.
Ins. The problem so far as Hong Kong is concerned is mainly a Chinese one and on such matters the Secretary for Chinese Affairs usually corresponds direct with Chinese Secretariats and Protectorates in Malaya. He may also communicate with the authorities in the Netherland East Indies, Indo-China or the United States through the Consuls General for the Netherlands. France and the United States of America. The Inspector General of Police would generally concern himself only with correspondence concerning non-Chinese or with authorities with whom the Secretary for Chinese Affairs does not communicate directly.
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4. Is there any voluntary supervision exercised by shipping companies travelling alone to or from your country?
over
women
Ans. No.
5. Are prostitutes in your country exploited through a system of debts?
Ans. It is not unusual for a prostitute on entering a brothel to be required to sign a promissory note. The debt no doubt in most cases represents the amount of the purchase money with interest but is generally disguised as a loan perhaps for the purpose of buying clothes or jewellery. To maintain the fiction the money is sometimes handed to the girl herself who passes it to the trafficker. From state- ments made by prostitutes it seems likely that the usual arrangement is for the girl to agree to remain with the mistress for a term of years, 3, 5 or 7; but that she can be redeemed' at any time on payment of a lump sum representing the purchase money and interest.
Prostitutes applying for permission to enter known brothels are always in- formed by the official before whom they appear that they are in no way under com- pulsion to remain in the brothel and action is at once taken by the authorities against any brothel keeper who is suspected of having put any form of pressure upon a girl to remain in the brothel against her will.
B.-Questions of a Social or Economic Order.
1. What has been the influence of the economic, social or political Country on the entrance of foreign women into prostitution?
conditions in your
Uns. See the reply to Question 6 in Part I. It is not of course possible to distinguish between Chinese born in Hong Kong and those born elsewhere, and therefore any answer must be of general application. The following points are suggested. There are a large number of transient male visitors: many settlers already maintain an establishment in their native country and are unable to afford the expense of a second and therefore resort to prostitutes. The Chinese prostitute often occupies the position of the geisha in Japan as an entertainer at restaurants and clubs, the demand for such entertainers being a natural consequence of the low standard of education among Chinese women. Occupations for girls other than marriage, concubinage or domestic service are few though in Hong Kong approxi- Attendants at hotels and restaurants mately 6,000 are employed as factory hands. are usually men. There are a few females employed as waitresses in tea-houses and these often practise prostitution clandestinely. Hong Kong is geographically a part of China and the influence of Chinese customs and mode of life is predominant. There is little doubt that a state of anarchy in the neighbouring province has an effect on the traffic in women. Many refugees find their way to the colony. Des- truction of property leaves many destitute, and these persons are reduced to selling their children to escape starvation. Others are carried off and sold by bandits and kidnappers.
2. Are there any special conditions affecting the supply of, or demand for, foreign prostitutes in your country, such as excess of male population, temporary markets for prostitu. tion created by occasional or seasonal movements of the population--i... movements of soldiers and sailors, sports gatherings and other festivals, tourists, etc.?
Ins. See the reply to Question 1 and to Question 6 in Part I.
3. What is the effect of public opinion, popular education, efforts of voluntary organisa. tions, professional associations. or prominent individuals on the existence and extent of the
traffic
s. So far the question does not seem to have aroused much interest in China. Chinese public opinion accepts the existence of this traffic as a matter of In course although if the point were pressed it would undoubtedly disapprove. Canton du licensed brothels have been more than once closed but have been re- opened again under pressure of financial necessity. Local public opinion regards brothels as inevitable and considers that their existence provides an outlet for in- stinet which might otherwise bring about the disruption of the Chinese traditions of family life. The higher education of women, a comparatively new thing in South Chin will no doubt have an effect in time to come.
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APPENDIX.
Part I Question 3. Part II-A Question I.
HO MUI, 20, of Macao, living at 18 Reclamation Street, 1st floor, states:
"My parents are dead. I was brought up by my foster mother CHAN NG, a ginger scraper, a widow, since I was 5. Last year CHAN NG pledged me to LO KAU, a friend of hers, for $180. There was no deed. LO KAU is a sly prostitute aged about 26. She put me into 44, Hollywood Road, 1st floor, from which address I used to go out to practise prostitution at $4 to $5 a time. When I had paid the brothel mistress her share I paid the balance to LO KAU who paid for my board and lodging. This went on for two months. The money was paid last year but I did not join LO KAU until this year when she demanded the money and my foster mother was unable to repay it
I ran away to my foster mother because I did not want to be a prostitute”.
12.10.26.
LO MUI, 19, of Canton.
"My father 10 K'AU died three years ago. My mother LAI SHI was alive when I last saw her in Chuk Wan Sha, Tung Kwan. Six months ago I left Canton with a friend, a young woman, NG YUT WA, who tried to persuade me to become an actress. She persuaded me to come to Hong Kong without telling my mother. She said I could write from Hong Kong.
When we arrived she said her relations had been arrested on my mother's complaint and that she must sell me to get money to defend them. I objected and she and a man threatened to throw me into the sea. Finally I was sold for $230 in Siam. When I had earned $500 the mistress released me and I went to the au- thorities who sent me back to Hong Kong.
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