CO537-4835(2) — Page 61

2.

STATEMENT by THE CHINESE ASSOCIATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORKERS,

HONG KONG BRANCH.

H

W84/49.

20th November,

1.9420

In the General Meeting of the Chinese Association of Scientific Workers, Kong Branch (hereafter referred to as the Branch Association), held in Kowloon, Hong Kong, on the 20th November, 1949, it was unanimously resolved that, regarding the refusal by the Registrar of Societies of Hong Kong Government of registration to the Branch Association, the following statement should be issued:

The Branch Association was formed carly in 1949 and was rogistered by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs of the Hongkong Government. Our objective is to unite the Chinese scientific workers in Hongkong for mutual help in the enlargement of professional knowledge and for the advancement of technology and natural sciences and of industrial and scientific reconstruction in China. Wo have about one hundred mombers, all of whom are ongincers, technicians or professors or teachers in natural sciences. Among the members there are many who have made considerablo contributions to technology or natural science and are famous both in China and abroad. Since its formation, the activities of the Branch Association consist oja lectures in technology and natural sciences, seminars, translation and edition of scientific periodicals and books. Recently, an open meeting was held in colebration of the inauguration of the People's Republic of China and the Central Poople's Government, and the Branch Association also initiated collections of donations for the People's Liberation army,

Last May, the Hongkong Government promulgated the Societies Ordinance, 1949. In accordance with the legal procedure, we made an application for registration at the Societies Registration Office of the Hongkong Government, The Registrar of Societies kept our application under consideration for about five months and fimally decided to refuse registration to the Branch Association immediately after we hold the open meeting in celebration of the inauguration of the People's Republic of China and started the collection of donations for the People's Liberation Army. The Registrar of Societies, on 9th. November, 1949, informed us that in accordance with the provision of Section 5 of the Societies Ordinanco, 1949 ho rofused registration to the Branch Association, which would be deomed thereafter to be an unlawful society. The article in Section 5 of the Ordinance reads: "Where tho Registrar is satisfied that a local society is a branch of, or is affiliated to, or connected with, any organisation or group of a political nature established outside the Colony, he shall refuse to register it, and where it appears to him that any local society is likely to be used for an unlawful purpose or for any purpose prejudicial to, or incompatible with, peace, welfare or good order in the Colony, ho shall rofuse to register it,"

If, in accordance with the provision of Section 5 of the Ordinance, the Branch Association is accused of "being used for an unlawful purpose or for any purpose prejudicial to, or incompatible with, peace, welfare or good order in the Colony", the accusation is evidently baseless, The second part of the provision, therefore, cannot be applied to the case of the Branch Association, The Branch Association is not of a political naturo, and the first part of the provision is irrelevant to the case of the Branch Association, The reason why the Registrar refused registration to the Branch Association is thus made completely incomprobeus- ible to us. We reserve the right to make an appeal to the Governor of Hongkong, and actually are doing so now, We categorically deny that the Branch Association is an unlawful society. It is a society of scientists and for scientific activities which cannot be limited to Hongkong or any district or country, since science is the achievement of mankind and belongs to the whole world, Our organisation is a branch of the Chinese Association of Scientific Workers which has its branches in Denmark, Franco, North America and Great Britain, All those four branches function frooly and without any restrictions being imposed on thom, It is only in Hongkong; the "chow window of Western democracy" in the Far East, that a scientific organisation is threatened because of its very existence. This 13. at least, amazing to the scientific and the democratic world,

The Chinese Association of Scientific Workers is a foundation member of the World Foderation of Scientific Workers, and its fraternal organisation, the British Association of Scientific Workers is also a foundation member of the World Federation, A member of our Branch Association is the liason officer of the Chinese Association of Scientific Workers to the British Association, and several mombers of ours have been members of the British Association of Scientific