CO129-482 - Public Offices - 1923 — Page 110

CO129 Colonial Office Hong Kong Records 理藩院香港檔案 All

Gopy.

(T 2673/2673/317)

Excellency:-

Jet

THE CHINESE MERCHANTS BANK, LIMITED 1

36, Rue Chaignesu,

Saigon.

5th February, 1923.

108.

I beg to take the liberty of drawing Your Excellency':

attention to the following distressing facts:

Though I am a British subject, born in the British

colony of Hong Kong, and the bearer of a British passport duly vised and counter-vised by the French consul et Hong Kong authorising me to travel in Indo-China, I was disagreeably

surprised on arriving at Saigon, to find that the French

authorities, absolutely refused to recognise me as a British

subject, and treated me as a Chinese subject, these lest are

subjected on their arrival in this colony to very ignominious treatment which is an insult to any man's dignity, they are also

subjected to a different fiscal regime.

My passport was withdrawn, and the French officials

gave me papers declaring my Chinese nationality in exchange.

This was done to me In spite of the fact that I am the chief

manager of the Chinese Merchants Brink, Limited, of Hong Kong,

as well as the managing director of Nam Loong Rice Firm which is

the biggest and most infl uential business house in Cholon, Indo-

Further I suffer from the inequality of a special system

of laws by which I am obliged to pay the license taxes of my

business concerns two to three times more than the other

Europeans in exactly the same class of business. Such prejudice

China.

against British subjects undoubtedly handicaps the development

of

His Excellency,

The Secretary of Foreign Affairs,

London,

Great Britain.

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