CO129-563-12 Sino-Japanese War- evacuation of refugees from China 15-8-1937 - 4-1-1938 — Page 62

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arrival in China must be problematical, and that they

might very easily be refused permission to re-enter

Formosa after the end of the war, I had not expected

evacuation to take place on any very large scale; now,

I think, did the Japanese authorities. Yesterday,

however, Mesars. Jardine Matheson & Co., Ltd., vere

approached by my Chinese solleague, who stated that

30,000 Chinese desired immediate evacuation, and that

there would very likely be more to follow He had

already approached my American colleague, and the

American agents for the Java-China-Japan Line, but, now

that Japanese ships are no longer plying between Formosan

and Chinese ports, it was obvious that only British lines

could furnish transport on the scale desired,

He

asked Mr. Holton, manager of the British firm, whether

they would be prepared to provide the necessary shipping,

and the latter, after visiting Mr Sakamoto and assuring

himself that his firm would not incur the ill-ill of

the authorities by engaging in this traffic, despatched

a telegram laying the matter before his principals at

Hongkong

It is possible therefore that during the

next two or three weeks there may be one or two British

ships passing to and from between Formosa andsome Chinese port, probably Amoy, carrying refugees-

A It is reported in today's paper that about

1000 Chinese hope to gonto Amoy by a steamer of the

Java-China-Japan Line, which enters Keelung tomOTTOT,

and that 486 actually left by the Osaka Shosen Kaisha's

'Pukken Maru" før Hongkong yesterday. The vessel

visits Hongkong only, and as I fear that these

refugees may be a very unwelcome addition to the already

great congestion in that solony, I have this morning

sent a telegrm of warning to the Goverment of

ilongkong