Office of the Historian

393.1163/1040: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the First Secretary of Embassy in China (Smyth), at Peiping

Washington, February 19, 1941—9 p.m.

38. Chungking’s January 30, noon, to Shanghai and Hong Kong’s 41, February 4, 10 a.m.10 The Department in its 22, January 28, 8 p.m. to Chungking (which Peiping should repeat to interested consulates) indicated the procedure to be followed by American missionaries desiring to transfer from occupied to “free” China. The Department has believed that such procedure would be more convenient for mission boards in the United States in formulating their plans than for interested missionaries to take up their cases individually with the various consulates. It is possible that business organizations or individuals may present comparable cases directly to the Department for consideration and that the Department will issue instructions to the officers concerned in connection with those cases.

In general, when officers receive applications for passport facilities for travel in areas of the Far East to which the Department’s restrictive policy applies, the officers should give consideration to the applications in the light of existing instructions and of the question whether there exist essential reasons for the journey, the burden being upon the applicant or upon his organization to show that the desired travel is urgent and essential. Doubtful cases should, of course, be referred to the Department for consideration.

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As regards particularly the situation at Hong Kong, Americans whose bona fides have been established and who desire to go ashore in Hong Kong or to break their journey there for essential business or other legitimate purposes should be given appropriate assistance vis-à-vis the Hong Kong authorities.

As regards cases in which the Department has expressly authorized travel facilities, all officers should of course render the traveler such assistance incident to the journey vis-à-vis other authorities as may be appropriate and practicable, unless new and impelling considerations shall have arisen which make the journey inadvisable.

The Department requests that the Embassy at Peiping appropriately instruct officers in China, Hong Kong and Indochina.

Sent to Peiping. Repeated to Chungking, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Hull
  1. Latter not printed.↩