CO129-518-9 The Mui-Tsai question- printed papers relating to the system 20-9-1929 - 1-11-1929 — Page 118

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7. In addition to making enquiry from official sources, I have also caused investigations to be made through private Chinese channels, and I attach a translation of a letter received by Mr. Lo Kam õhuk, a-much trusted clerk in the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, from a Chinese friend of his in Canton. It is to the effect that in the city of Canton the police have warned the people from time to time, in compliance with the regulations. to report in case they have any mui-tsai, and to submit for examination the deeds they have in respect of them; but that in each police station of the city not more than ten cases have been reported, and that the regulations are only a matter of form; that purchases of mui-tsai still continue, despite the prohibition; that some masters do send their mui-tsai to school but only in the hope that they may be sold to rich families as con- cubines for an enhanced price, but that he knows of no case of a mui-tsai being sent to school as a result of any dispute reported to a police station that the insufficiency of schools in Kwangtung is notorious, and that the Canton Government cannot afford to estab- lish schools for the accomodation of mui-tsai. He then writes. The abolition of mui-tsai is a good idea in the interests of humanity. But China is a vast country with a dense population, and the idea cannot be altogether excellent. Piracy and unemployment prevail in all outlying districts. Industry and trade have not yet been developed, and no institutions have been established for the accomo- dation of the unemployed. The cost of living in Kwangtung is particularly high, and the poor families of several persons generally cannot earn enough for their support. People, who have several daughters, will sell some of them to others as mui-tsai in the hope that they can secure means of livelihood with the sum of about $100, which is acquired from the sale, and save their families from starvation. If mui-tsai are suddenly abolished, unless loans can be raised, such people will not be able to do anything but fold up their arms and wait for death. The so-called prohibition in previous years of girls binding up their breasts and the suppression this year of Chinese medical practitioners and astrologers were all attempted without due regard to circumstances and the fact that it would lead to unemployment, and I am afraid that such measures will only turn out unsuccessful. If the mui-tsai question is to be solved for the sake of humanity, it will suffice if the rich families are prohibited from maltreating them. Poor girls, who have been sold to be mui- tsai, generally refuse to go back to their parents, even when forced to do so by their masters. They prefer to remain mui-tsai, for they are free from cold and hunger and can have better food, lodging and clothing. Each year very few cases have occurred in which mui-tsai want to go back to their families."

8. I have also received a report from the Honourable Dr. S. W. Ts'o O.B.E., member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. He writes concerning the Canton Regulations :-

These regulations are but dead letters. They are intended to serve as a blind or to show to other countries that China is making a great progress in modern civilization. As a matter of fact, the buying and selling of girls is still going on in China." Similarly the Secretary for Chinese Affairs reports :—

"I have asked a number of Chinese whether they have heard of any attempt being made to enforce these regulations, but the answer has always been no.

I think it is, therefore, safe to say that the regulations published by the Chinese authorities on the 1st March, 1927, have not as yet been carried into practice with respect to mui-tsai and that the prac- tice now in force is to all intents and purposes the same as that described in paragraph 2 of this despatch.

9. There is another preliminary point which is well to dispose of. You say "It is constantly alleged that mui-tsai are a regular source of recruitment for prostitution," and you ask whether any further safeguard against this can be introduced. It is very necessary to state emphatically that the mui-tsai system is not a regular source of recruitment for prostitution. The usual source of such recruitment is among poor families, which in times of distress will

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