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**Hongkong Standard
635, King's Road, North Point, Hongkong Telephone 616222-8
Member Audit Bureau of Circulations.
Page 8 Saturday, March 22, 1969
Must clause 31 stay on?
January this year, the Government, upon review of the Emergency Regulations, revoked Clauses 27, 41 and 129 from them, and said that as conditions in Hongkong became more normal, further regulations would be repealed.
The Government has now revoked twenty-five more emergency regulations, but warning at the same time they could be reimposed whenever the occasion warrants it.
As they existed on the whole, the Emergency Regulations were never popular in Hongkong. But it became evident to the public during 1967 riots, when the fate of the Colony appeared to hang in the balance, that it was essential for the Government to promulgate Draconian laws.
Hongkong, in those days, was living in an abrasive climate of disturbances and violence. Consequently, drastic action was needed to cope with the situation.
But this drastic situation no longer exists. The Government has had plenty of time to review the regulations thoroughly, but it has not yet thought it expedient to repeal the controversial Clause 31 of the Emergency Regulations.
This had sparked a vehement attack by the Hongkong Bar Association on grounds that it gave Government sweeping totalitarian powers, making Hongkong a police state.
Regulation 31 enables the Colonial Secretary to detain any person for a period not exceeding a year. But as the Colonial Secretary is not infallible, an innocent man could be arrested and detained without having recourse to legal protection.
This regulation, which was justified in 1967 during the riots, has no basis today. So its retention is pernicious and undemocratic.
We think it not unreasonable to ask the Government to revoke it as soon as possible in the interest of public confidence in the Colony.
For one thing, existence of Regulation 31 would only remind the public of a black period in Hongkong's history which is best forgotten.
So why retain it, unless Government wants the public to think that conditions here, however normal they may seem on the surface, are still fraught with uncertainty, and it's best to be on one's guard under the circumstances.
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RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES No.31
- 8 APR 1969
NKEN/20