CO129-529-4 China- extraterritoriality 23-11-1931 - 31-12-1931 — Page 79

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If the

Union participate than if they decide to stand out.

Union decided to stand out of the new treaty it will be

appreciated that the result would be that the existing treaties would still apply to Union nationals, etc.

6.0

The Chinese could not be expected to be satisfied with this position and almost certainly would insist that the separate arrangements should be entered into withthem by the Union for the modification or renunciation of existing treaty rights. We do not think moreover that it would suffice merely to omit Union from Members of the Commonwealth signing the treaty and it seems to us that a clause would have to be inserted in the treaty specifically defining British vessels as excluding vessels registered in the Union and British subjects/excluding Union nationals and so on.

Inevitably be to bring the Union into prominence during the negotiations and thus focus Chinese attention on the circumstances the probability is that the Chinese would be tempted to seize the opportunity to create difficulties by reference to the position of Chinese citizens in the Union even if the Union were prepared to renounce their rights in toto by unilateral declaration or otherwise.

The net result would almost

In such

If, on the other hand, the Union were to agree to participate they would only be one out of other Dominions where restrictions on Chinese exist, and additional factors would come into play calculated to prevent the Chinese from raising the question of such restrictions. The Union Government may like to know in this connection that the Chinese have already intimated that (in so far as benefits under the treaty are concerned) they

attach