SUN YAT SEN
When Dr. Sun Yat-sen, in exile in Yokohama, applied to the Hongkong authorities for permission to reside in the Colony, he received the following uncompromising answer from the Colonial Secretary, Mr. J.H. Stewart Lockhart:
Sir, - In reply to your letter, undated, I am directed to inform you that this Government has no intention of allowing the British Colony of Hongkong to be used as an asylum for persons engaged in plots and dangerous conspiracies against a friendly neighbouring Empire, and that in view of the part taken by you in such transactions, which you euphemistically term in your letter "emancipating your miserable countrymen from the cruel Tartar yoke, you will be arrested if you land in this Colony, under an order of banishment issued against you in 1896.
The action of the local Government in refusing Dr. Sun Yat-sen the right of refuge in Hongkong was subsequently commented upon in England by the press.
On April 5, 1898, in the House of Commons, Mr. Davitt asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the following questions upon the subject:
Upon what specific grounds was Dr. Yat-sen banished from Hongkong in 1896? What offence had he committed against British authority in that Colony? Was he tried and convicted for any overt act against the laws of the Colony? If so, has any record of such conviction or trial been communicated to the Colonial Office?
Mr. Davitt further asked whether, in the absence of any such recorded conviction, the banishment order would be revoked.
The Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Chamberlain gave the following reply:
Mr. Sun Yat-sen left Hongkong in 1895, at a time when information had reached the Colonial Government that he was implicated in certain proceedings against the Chinese authorities in Canton. Hearing that he was likely to return, the Government in Council issued an order of banishment against him. He was not charged with, or convicted of, an offence against the laws of the Colony. I am not aware whether the order of banishment is still in force, or whether any application has been made for its revocation, but I will cause inquiries to be made.
On July 18, 1898, Mr. Davitt reverted to the subject of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's banishment and asked the Secretary of State for the result of the inquiries promised.
The following was the reply of the Secretary of State for the Colonies:
The promised inquiries have been made, and I have to supplement my previous answer as follows: Sun Yat-sen, not being a naturalised subject of Her Majesty, was, under Section 3 of the Banishment and Conditional Pardons Ordinance of 1882, prohibited from residing in the Colony for five years from March 4, 1896, on the ground that he was, in the opinion of the Governor-in-Council, dangerous to the peace and good order of the Colony. No application was made by the Chinese for his banishment and he left the Colony prior to the issue of the order; but there seems to have been no doubt that he was implicated in a conspiracy against that Government which made and makes his presence in Hongkong undesirable.
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SUN YAT SEN
When Dr. Sun Yat-sen, in exile in Yokohama, applied to the Hongkong authorities for permission to reside in the Colony, he received the following uncompromising answer from the Colonial Secretery, Mr. J.H. Stewart Lockhart:
Sir, - In reply to your letter, undated, I am directed to inform you that this Government has no intention of allow- ing the British Colony of Hongkong to be used as an asylum for persons engaged in plots and dangerous conspiracies against a friendly neighbouring Empire, and that in view of the part taken by you in such transactions, which you euphemis- tically term in your letter "omencipating your miserable country- men from the oruel Tartar yoke, you will be arrested if you land in this Colony, under an order of banishment issued against you in 1896.
The action of the local Government in refusing Dr. Sun Yat-sen the right of refuge in Hongkong was subsequently commented upon in Engle and by the press.
On April 5, 1898, in the House of Commons, Mr. Davitt asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the following que stions upon the subject:
Upon what specifio grounds was Dr. Yat-sen banished from Hongkong in 18967 What offence had he committed For been charged with against British authority in tha t Colony? Was he tried and convicted for any overt act against the laws of the Colony? If so, hae any record of such conviction or trial been communicated to the Colonial Office?
Mr. Davitt further asked whether, in the absence of any such recorded conviction, the banishment order would be revoked,
The Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Chamberlein gave the following reply:
Mr. Sun Yat-sen left Hongkong in 1895, et e time when information had reached the Colonial Government that he was implicated in certain proceedings against the Chinese authorities in Canton. Hearing that he was likely to return, the Government in Council issued an order of banishment against him. He was not charged with, or convicted of, en offence against the laws of the Colony. I am not aware whether the order of banishment is still in force, or whether any application has been made for its revocation, but I will cause inquiries to be made.
On July 18, 1898, Mr. Davitt reverted to the subject of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's banishment and asked the Secretary of State for the result of the inquiries promised.
The following was the reply of the Secretary of State for the Colonies:
The promised inquiries have been made, and I have to supplement my previous answer as follows: Sun Yat- sen, not being a naturalised subject of Her Majesty, was, under Section 3 of the Benishment and Conditional Pardons Ordinance of 1882, prohibited from residing in the Colony for five years from March 4, 1896, on the ground that he was, in the opinion of the Governor-in- Council, dangerous to the peace and good order of the Colony. No application was made by the Chinese for his banishment and he left the Colony prior to the issue of the order; but there seems to have been no doubt that he was implicited in a conspiracy against that Government which made and makes his presence in Hongkong undesirable.
1022
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