HC Deb 05 December 1922 vol 159 c1483
20. Mr. C. ROBERTS

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Proclamation has yet been issued in Hong Kong emancipating the mui tsai; and by what date it is anticipated that this system will be finally abolished?

Mr. ORMSBY-GORE

A Proclamation has been recently issued by the Governor on the lines indicated in the statement made in the House by Mr. Churchill on the 21st March. It is expected that the local legislation necessary to secure the abolition of the mui tsai system will be enacted in the near future, and that the administrative machinery to implement it will be completed early in 1923.

Colonel WEDGWOOD

Are not homes for these mui tsai who are emancipated being provided in Hong Kong, or what is being done to get them away from their servitude?

Mr. ORMSBY-GORE

I am afraid I do not know that off-hand, but I will look into the matter.