893.506 Manchuria/42: Telegram

The First Secretary of Embassy in China ( Salisbury ) to the Secretary of State

234. Following from American Consulate General at Harbin:

“April 11, 11 a.m. Reference is made to the Department’s No. 102 dated April 8, 6 p.m. to the Embassy at Peiping regarding the West Coast Life Insurance Company.

The company’s agent reports that exchange restrictions are no problem at present; he felt able to remit all of his accumulation of premiums collected in local government currency, and now accepts only drafts in foreign currency presented by policy holders, who readily give [get?] permits to pay premiums or loans. He expects this condition to continue.

He is not writing new policies, which must be in local currency unless special permission is granted. The company will not authorize policies in local currency, and so far has not given him the necessary authority to apply at Hsinking for permission to write policies in foreign currency and remit the premiums. Such permission would be valid only until June 1, when the new legislation comes into force, but he feels that it would be granted readily and would establish a precedent for similar permission following full compliance with the laws after the date mentioned.

On January 13, February 7 and 11 the Consulate General forwarded to the company’s Shanghai branch, at its request various translations of the pertinent law, the insurance business law, and a discussion of the situation. These, together with the agent’s recommendations and legal advice which it is understood have been forwarded, should be enough to enable the company to decide the question of compliance. No question of consular representations has arisen; the American Government has already protested the application of these laws to American nationals; and as other American firms are taking steps [Page 450] toward registration with this office acting in a notarial capacity only, the Consulate General does not think it expedient to intervene on behalf of one company until such time as it suffers from direct official action. An authorized representative of the company (the agent here has no power) should apply for registration; or if registration not desired, he should settle with the authorities the now uncertain status of an office maintained for collection purposes only.”

Copy by mail to Mukden.

Salisbury