Sessional_Paper_1929 — Page 248

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escape notice. Chinese families occupying one or more cubicles in a tenement house can move bag and baggage at any time without trouble or expense and do so constantly.

(f) Sections (7) and (8). Present the same difficulty. The enforcement of such restrictions would involve an almost daily search of all premises in that large area of the city where the population is a floating one.

The Po Leung Kuk has a daily average of some 40 inmates and can accommodate about 70 in all. The number of Chinese entering and leav ing Hong Kong is several thousands daily.

(g) Part II. Sections (1) to (6). Present the same difficulties as the proposed regulations regarding mui-tsai. There is an even stronger objection to the issue of certificates in the case of socalled 'adopted daughters'. Instances of genuine mui-tsai being disposed of as prostitutes are rarely met with; but it is quite usual for persons who procure young girls to describe them as 'adopted daughters'. Such persons would be only too glad of the opportunity to secure an official certificate of adoption.

SUGGESTED REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE REGISTRATION OF MUI TSAI

AND ADOPTED DAUGHTERS.

Registration Regulation for Mui Tsai :-

(1) After the promulgation of the registration law all Muitsai must be regis- tered within six months. After the period prescribed, no registration is permissible. Failure on the part of owners to register their Muitsai will be punishable by a fine.

(2) All documents, either deeds of sale or deeds of gift relating to the Mui- tsai, must be surrendered to, and cancelled by, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, who in turn will issue a certificate to the Master or Mistress as evidence of his or her right to employ the girl as Muitsai.

(3) Two copies of a photograph of every Muitsai must be supplied by her owner at the time of registration, one of which is to be filled with the Chinese Secretariat and the other is to be affixed to the certificate issued by the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, so as to avoid any attempt at frau- dulent substitution. As an additional safeguard, the Muitsai will be re- quired to place on the register as well as on the certificate, her finger print.

(4) Both the owner and the Muitsai must be present at the registration, and it should be the duty of the official in charge clearly to explain to the owner that hereafter the girl must be treated as an ordinary hired servant and to the girl her rights and future status in the household.

(5) Wages must be fixed for the Muitsai as follows: From 12 to 14 years old, 50 cents a month; from 15 to 17 $1 a month. All Muitsai who have attained the age of 18 must report the fact to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs and have their registration cancelled. They can then either make mutual arrangement with the owners to continue in their em- ployment as free agents or seek employment elsewhere.

(6) If a Muitsai is leaving the Colony, or when she attains full age and free- dom, the owner together with the Muitsai must report the facts of the case to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs. In the event of marriage, the Muitsai should be required to signify her willingness to such marriage to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs.

(7) Any Muitsai passing through the Colony or staying temporarily in the Colony, whose residence here exceeds the period of two weeks must re- port, accompanied by the owner, to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs and obtain a certificate of identity. Muitsai who stay in Hong Kong for a period exceeding one month and who are under 18 years of age must be given into the charge of the Po Leung Kuk and dealt with in the same way as stipulated in clause 8.