NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
RegistryKK 1/12
No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Tep-Secret. Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
..In Confidence
Flag A
10
completing
üz
who
One
the mont
Mo
down to from
in member
DRAFT LETTER
To:-
J. Tilney, Esq., MP.,
House of Commons,
S.W. 1.
Than
You
Type 1 +
(786)
Froar Lord Shepherd
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
I am replying to your letter of 9 January about the on the subject of detainees in Hong Kong.
note that you have already discussed this question with the Governor and I gather from your letter that you are well seized as to the background of the matter.
In Town's
May I say.
that
The first point dit should like to make is that i guite
quite untrue to suggest, as
Hong trong
does lir. Litten, (that the, Government is
ん
unwilling to relinquish its powers under
Le
00
emergency regulations Neither nor the Governor have any wish whatever to see emergency regulations (and in particular, Regulation 31 which confers the power of detention) continued in operation a moment longer than is necessary, in the interests of the people of Hong Kong. This has already
been made clear in answer o Questions in the House of Commons.and in fact the process of terminating the operation of emergency
in
NP
been in progress since
regulations has been
September 1967. But the regulation conferring
the power of detention must continue in opera- tion until it has been found possible to
release all the remaining detainees,
fons
There
are in fact only five persons now remaining in
detention and their cases are regularly and frequently reviewed with a view to their
release as soon as the security situation permits.
You suggest in your letter that "if the processes of law could be used to better advantage, our image would probably be improved". There is of course very little disposition in Hong Kong (except in certain limited sections of the public) to question the need for the continued retention of some emergency powers; as reflected, for example, most independent
/Chinese
W(B)L 51-7433
Com