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political factor.
5.
Nevertheless the Governor will not be surprised by this.
In the wake of the Tsoi case Ministers could not be expected
to give an unqualified assurance that the residual prerogative
would never be exercised save where a miscarriage of justice
has occurred. In practice this means that there will have to
be even closer liaison between us and the Governor, and that
he will need to be certain of Ministers' reaction in this
country before he decides in a specific case to let the law
take its course. On our side, since, as the Prime Minister
has said, it is important for the sake of good order in the
Colony, to uphold the Governor in his decision, we shall need
to ensure that we can hold to any decision to support the
Governor in a particular case.
6. This should avoid conflict in nearly all cases. But it
does not dispose of the ultimate possibility that the Governor
might find that he could not, in the circumstances of Hong Kong,
reprieve a convicted murderer in an extreme case; while the
Secretary of State might equally find it impossible in the
political situation in the UK not to recommend a reprieve to
This would have all the evil consequences foreseen
in paragraph 5 of Hong Kong telegram number 788. But at this
stage we can do no more than note the importance of avoiding
this situation.
The Queen.
7. We need two letters to the Governor to explain all this.
The first, which he could show to his Executive Council, should
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