Secretariat 2/528/468
No: 46.
SECRET
Copied to:
Secretary of State
for the Colonies (No. 26.)
Governor, Singapore
High Commissioner, Kuala Lumpur
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG.
14th July, 1948.
43
58
15314/14/40 R15.
Sir,
I have the honour to refer to your despatch No. 8 (99/936/47) of 7th January, 1947, (copied to the Foreign Office as your despatch No. 42), enclosing copy of the Chinese counter dr ft for a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation. Although I understand that negotiations with His Majesty's Government and the Chinese Goverment for a Trenty of this nature are at present sus- feuded, it way be useful to place or recor: the views of thic Government. The Chinese counter dr ft aus been con- sidered by the wrious departments concerned in this Govern- ment, and the following observations are submitted.
2.
Article 3,(3). The Commissioner for Foriegn affairs for Lwangtung aud Kwaugsi, which is the desiguation of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative in hong kong, would not presumably come within the descrition of "eocredited diplom tio kepresent tive". It seems desirable to avoid perpetuation of this trouble - causing office, and to get the Commissioner relaced by a Corsul General. If negotiations for a treaty are resumed it might be appropriate to take up this point then.
Article 4 (5)
3.
There are strong objections to this article in its present form. 1 would prerer omitting it altogether, or dealing with the subject outside the Treaty itself by all excmange of letters. The aportart words are "hitherto en oyed", for although there is no treaty right for Chinese to enter mong kong freely, and although the hong Kong Government has enacted laws under which the entry of Chinese is subjected to the same restrictions as those applicable to the Nationals of other states, the fact remains that hitherto in practice the Chinese hove at most times been exe ipted by adainistrative action from the rigorous application to them of such restrictions. A further point is that this privilege of exemption from compliance with Immigration Regulations has been extended only to Chinese Nationels of Chinese race. It has in the past been relatively
HIT BAZLAGIO MAJ. STY'S AMBASI ADUR,
BATISH TABASSY,
WANKING.
23 JUL 1948 0.0. KLGY,
1