CO129-533-11 Protection of Anglo-Chinese in China 21-2-1931 - 22-9-1931 — Page 66

C

Sr.

S.S. "Fushimi Maru,"

At Sea,

February 17th, 1931.

81

22a om

72770

sir,

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt

at Singapore on February 9th of your despatch No.

1005 of December 1st, 1930 (F 6260/738/10) on the

subject of the proposed establishment of a Chinese

Consulate at Kuala Lumpur, in which you call for my

views on the point raised in the concluding sentence

of the letter from the Colonial office of October

30th, namely that the recognition by the Chinese

Government of the principle that "a State may not

afford diplomatic protection to one of its nationals

against a State whose nationality such person also

possesses" should be strongly pressed in connection

with the settlement of the question of the protection

of Anglo-Chinese in China.

2. The present position in regard to this

vexed question of the protection by His Majesty's

Consuls in China of British Subjects of Chinese

descent is that after an interdepartmental correspon-

dence lasting for nearly ten years His Majesty's

Government decided quite recently that we should seek

a settlement along the lines of admitting the applica-

bility to these people of the Chinese nationality law

(and therefore their double nationality) provided we

could secure assurances that denationalisation certi-

ficates would not be unreasonably withheld and make

The Right Honourable

Arthur Henderson, H.P.,

arrangements

etc.,

eto..

etc.,

FOREIGN OFFICE.