FO371-31667 — Page 129

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Telephone Number: EUSton 4321. Telegrams: MINIFORM, LONDON.

Any further communication should be essed to :-

THE DIRECTOR GENERAL

and the following

quoted :-

FP.47/143

Your reference :

reference should be

Eule

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION,

MALET STREET,

LONDON W.C.I.

4237

5th June, 1942.

1947

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Dear Mr. Scott,

The matter I discussed with Mr. Bromley, when I imagined you were still away, was as follows:-

1.

The Secretary of the Conference of British Mission- ary Societies recently approached us, through the Religions Division of this Ministry, in connection with communications between this country and missionaries in China.

2.

The Post Office apparently define as enemy terri- tory all provinces in China which are in any way occupied by the Japanese. This means that not only is it impossible to despatch a letter from this country to territory which, although strictly speaking behind the Japanese lines, is still in fairly regular communication with Free China, but it is also illegal to despatch a letter to any part of a province, one small corner of which may be in Japanese hands.

3.

The result of this Post Office definition is that many missionaries in China are completely cut-off from

It is not poss- direct communications from this country. ible to get over the difficulty by sending letters to indi- viduals in Free China for onward transmission since this is also illegal.

རྗ

4.

It would seem desirable that some kind of arrange- ment should be made to overcome this difficulty since, apart from purely personal questions, the missionaries would them- selves undoubtedly benefit from being kept informed of affairs in the outside world, and, where possible, might do useful work in spreading accurate news and information.

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