CO129-611-2 Liaison with British Embassy and consulates in China- appointment of political advisor 1-9-1945 - 20-10-1947 — Page 132

CONFIDENTIAL.

Sir,

3

129

16

Government House,

Hong Kong,

15th November,1946.

RECEIVED

22 NOV.246

C. O. REGY

In your confidential despatch No.8 of the 6th

May, 1946, you asked me to consider what arrangements I

regarded as most appropriate for the administration of

Chinese affairs in this Colony and at the same time you

outlined certain suggestions which had been put forward

for making available to the Hong Kong Government the informed

advice of an officer who should be fully conversant with the

general trend of affairs in China and in constant touch with

His Majesty's Embassy at Nanking.

2.

I have had this matter under consideration for

some time and am now in a position to put forward my recom-

mendations. Before I do so, it may be convenient if I give

some account of the existing arrangements for supplying this

Government with information and advice on Chinese affairs

both internal and external.

3.

From early times in Hong Kong the Registrar

General, whose title was subsequently changed to Secretary

for Chinese Affairs, dealt almost entirely with the Chinese

who constitute the vast majority of the population of the

Colony, and became the agency through whom all measures

designed for the regulation and for the care of the Chinese

were administered. As was to be expected his office also

became the channel through which all the representations

of the Chinese populace were made to the Government. holder of this post had to be well versed in the Cantonese

dialect and in Chinese customary law, particularly in regard

The Right Honourable

A. Creech Jones, P.C., M.P.

The