CO129-604-6 Immigration- control over entry from China 1-1-1947 - 4-1-1950 — Page 47

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FOREIGN OFFICE, S.W.1.

28th December, 1949.

(F 18437/16210/10)

CONFIDENTIAL

Dean Radford

(66)

In your letter 54064/3/49 of the

7th December you asked for Foreign Office views about the Chinese contention that under the 1898 Convention Chinese nationals can enter Hong Kong freely.

2. We agree with the view expressed by the Colonial authorities that the last sentence of the second paragraph of the Convention does not confer on Chinese officials and people any general right of access to the Colony.

3. On the other hand we are by no means convinced that the Colonial authorities are right in considering that the sentence in question has altogether ceased to be effective. It does not seem established that the Order-in-Council of the 27th December 1899 even pretends to abolish the right to use the road from Kowloon Walled City to Hsin-an (now Po-on) granted by the Convention; we are advised that paragraph 2 of the Order, which

/was dealing

R.. Radford, Esq.,

Colonial Office.