•
1361
Hong
[1 APRIL 1976] 'gained may be a little unbalanced, because those who have communicated with me have been mostly the underprivileged, but the fact that my noble friend Lord Goronwy-Roberts will be replying, and was there last year, may correct any imbalance which my remarks rellect.
My Lords, I want to express particular thanks to two of those who have been informing me on this question. The first is Mr. Walter Easy. He is now Secretary of the Hong Kong Research Project, and he himself was a policeman in Hong Kong between the years 1962 and 1968. He has acknowledged from his own experience the widespread corruption in the police, the enforcement of bribes under threat of trumped-up charges, and the harassment of the poor. He has admitted that he has connived at this while he was in the police service. He is now seeking to correct that record by his service to the people of Hong Kong.
The second person to whom I am greatly indebted is Councillor Elsie Elliott. She went to Hong Kong as a mis- sionary. She established in a tent a school for 20 children. Her school now has 3,000 children. She has been fearless in her championship of the rights of the underprivileged people of Hong Kong, and, despite the abuse which the estab- lishment have thrust upon her, her integrity is so much recognised that even the very limited franchise which elects the urban council has returned her with the highest majorities in Hong Kong. I want to pay tribute to that brave woman, whom I have met in this country and with whom I have been in frequent com- munication. 1 regard her as the Florence Nightingale and the Sister Teresa of Hong Kong. The population of Hong Kong is 4 million; only 1 per cent, of whom is European. The population is larger than many of the countries which now have their independence.
I want to speak first about the corrup tion there. One often hears new nations in Africa and Asia denounced for their corruption; I denounce them. But I doubt whether there is a single one of the new nations where corruption is so inte- grated into the whole of the Administra- tion as it is in Hong Kong. May I give two examples? First, in the streets of Hong Kong there are 100,000 hawkers who have to have licences for their stalls, and for the place from which they operate.
|
Kong
1362
There is an absolute protection racket throughout the whole of that relationship. There are secret societies, triads, which work closely with the police and which demand bribes from the hawkers; other- wise they will be charged with trumped-up charges. There is a similar system of cor- ruption among the miany mini-cab drivers, who again have to have licences. The corruption by the police was so well known that it took place in the streets, and Councillor Elsie Elliott has photo- graphs of it taking place. Because of her public exposure of it and the photo- graphs, it now takes place in secret rooms. It has become a part of the life of Hong Kong.
This corruption does not apply only to the ranks of the police force ; it extends to the most senior officers. There is the notorious case of Ernest Hunt, who admitted in court that he had amassed
£500,000 over 18 years as a policeman.
Because this became known as a result of the agitation in Hong Kong by Elsie Elliott and others, a Commission Against Corruption has been established. I have asked Questions in this House about it. In February 1975 there were 1,798 com- plaints to the Commission against the police, and 1,550 against other depart- ments. I want to ask the Minister ques- tions of which I have given him notice. How many complaints have now been made to the Commission Against Corrup- tion; how many have now been investi- gated; how many of these investigations have been completed; and how many convictions have there been?
The unhappy state of Hong Kong is not limited to corruption. Councillor Elsie Elliott gives evidence in her reports that the administration of the courts is weighted heavily against the poor and the uninformed Chinese. This may often be due to their ignorance rather than bias of the magistrates. I want to pay par- ticular tribute to the late John Miller, who was known throughout Hong Kong as, "The just magistrate". Sometimes legal representation of these poor and ignorant people is not available. I want to appeal to the Government tonight and ask that legal aid should be expanded. that there should be no means test for it and that it should be available to all who, need .it. I should like to see attached! to every court a prisoner's friend, similar to our probation officers, who would sympathetically explain, advise and help.