§ Mr. D. G. SOMERVILLEasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the number of British and foreign citizens, respectively, who have been captured by bandits or murdered in China within the last nine months; whether redress has been secured in any case; and what action the Chinese Government has taken to bring the offenders to justice?
Mr. A. HENDERSONAccording to my information, 13 British subjects have been captured by bandits since the end of June, 1929, and of these three have been murdered. I have no official record with regard to other foreigners. His Majesty's Minister and Consular Officers in China have made strong representations to the Chinese authorities in all these cases and, except in the three instances of murder and four pending cases, have secured the release of the captives. The Chinese authorities do not appear yet to have succeeded in bringing any of the offenders to justice, nor to have obtained any compensation for the victims. I should, however, make it plain that most of these outrages have been committed in remote places, where the Chinese Government does not at present exercise any effective authority.