HK
THE TIMES
Cutting dated
14 NOV 1968
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HELD IN HONGKONG
From Mr. P. C. M. Sedgwick
11
Sir, Mr. John Rear (November 11) attempts to argue that the case of Mr. Grey, detained in Peking, is comparable to the cases of the 30 or so detainees still in custody in Hongkong, and says that "like Mr. Grey, they have simply been held ".
On a point of fact Mr. Rear should know that the reasons for Mr. Grey's detention, as stated by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on 22nd July, 1967, were that in view of the Hongkong British authorities' unrea- sonable persecution of the correspondents of the Hongkong branch of the N.C.N.A. and other patriotic newsmen, the Chinese Government has decided to limit the free- dom of movement of the British Reuters' correspondent in Peking until further notice ". Unlike the treatment meted out to Mr. Grey, these " newsmen " have all been charged, tried and sentenced in the courts for offences against the law of Hong Kong.
Furthermore I would like to point out a few dissimilarities between the cases of Mr. Grey and of the detainees which Mr. Rear has omitted to mention. First, not even the Chinese Government, with con- siderable honesty, have ever suggested that Mr. Grey either misbehaved or did any- thing to offend them. He has simply been detained. The detainees in Hong Kong, on the other hand, were deeply and openly involved in the violent activities which led to over fifty deaths, including the deaths of small children from indiscriminate bomb planting; and they were all a part of a concerted assault on the way of life of the non-communist majority in the community.
Second, while the detainees have never been publicly accused, they have neverthe- less all been accused and their cases most carefully examined by the Law Officers
before detention orders were issued. Mr. Grey, of course, has never been accused because it has never yet been suggested that he ever did anything to offend.
Third, the detainees have all had a chance to appeal to an independent Com- mittee of Review: Mr. Grey has had no chance to plead his case before any authority.
Fourth, no one knows, least of all Mr. Grey, when he may be released. Detention orders are for one year and many detainees have been released before the year was up.. One has been redetained for good cause for one year and given a further chance to appeal to the Committee of Review.
Last, Mr. Grey has had one visit only during his incarceration. Detainees in Hong Kong may be, and are, visited at least once a month by relatives and friends and can be visited more frequently if occasion warrants. Nor are they held in virtual solitary confinement as is Mr. Grey.
I could elaborate the dissimilarities fur- ther, but I believe the above is enough to answer Mr. Rear's highly tendentious arguments. Nobody likes detention pro- cedures, least of all the Hong Kong author- ities, but at least they have been used in Hong Kong with the greatest modera- tion bearing in mind the scale and severity of the events of 1967. At the height of the trouble, the maximum number of de- tainees ever in custody was 54, which I suggest compares very favourably with the similar measures other governments have found it necessary to take when subjected to similar but certainly no more dangerous or violent situations.
Yours faithfully,
P. C. M. SEDGWICK, Director, Hong Kong Government Office, London.
54 Pall Mall, S.W.1, Nov. 12.
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