CONFIDENTIAL
5.
(3) on
it was an expedient which was subject to criticism on grounds of pure legal principle and was a source of some embarrassment to the then Secretary of State for the
Colonies. Indeed in 1966, after discussion in Hong Kong with Mrs. Eirene White, I gave an undertaking in writing
FED 76/4000 (my letter SCR 1/2706/58 II of 14th February 1966 refers),
that in no case would detention for a period exceeding
three years in total be resorted to without reference being made to the Secretary of State. Furthermore half-yearly reviews instead of the statutory yearly reviews were to be instituted in such cases.
10.
Although use has not been made of the Emergency (Deportation and Detention) Regs. 1962 for some years, they remain in force and I have continued to appoint a Chairman of the Tribunal from time to time. It would therefore be possible to resort again to the use of these regulations, should it appear to be necessary to do so in cases where the more usual processes of the courts would be impractical or ineffective. It is, of course, likely that the regulations would in many cases not be applicable, since the first test is liability to deportation, and in all probability an increasing number of young offenders will have been born in Hong Kong. It is indeed also very possible that a tribunal might be reluctant to order the detention of persons under the age of 21. Moreover deportation proceedings, though applicable in law in respect of a conviction for any offence, are at present administratively circumscribed on the advice of the Executive Council so as to apply in practice only to offences connected with triad societies, narcotics and illegal immigration in other words to those offences where there exists in effect a conspiracy of silence between all concerned, e.g. as between the members of a secret society, the addict and his supplier, or the immigrant and his travel agent. If we reverted to using these regulations, careful consideration would clearly have to be given to the desirability of so doing before any extended application of them to circumstances where this does not apply, and where perhaps other options might still be open, was proposed.
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