E.&.
THE MUI TSAI SYSTEM IN HONG KONG.
140
Drapt.
Es
85142 9/9. R. Felisa/4
12
Arr. Lunn 14
A copy of the 1923 Ordinance is attached.
The Governor has now been instructed
(1) to bring Part III into operation
(2)
(3)
to make Regulations under Section 12 for the
keeping of registers, the remuneration of
Mui Tsai, and their inspection and control.
to amend Part II of the Ordinance so as to
forbid the bringing into the Colony of any
mui tsai.
A fundamental distinction between the
status of a mui tsai in China and a debt slave in
Kedah is that the latter's
restored status can be removed
only by the redemption of the debt whereas the status of
at anytime
the former can be restored by voluntary or compulsory
without repayment-
removal from the custody of her employer he may
walk out at any moment she likes and the law denies
to the employer any right of recovery either of the
mui tsai or the payment made when he "adopted" her.
There is no question of any money basis as affecting
her liberty.
That mui tsai do not walk out is due to any
of the following reasons:
(1) They may be well cared for and contented
in their employer's house, and their chance of
marriage is improved by staying on.
(2) They may have no knowledge of their
parents' whereabouts, and indeed of who their parents
are,
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