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3
fall into the British Overseas Citizen category). Although
the change would make no practical difference, it would be
interpreted by local people as a weakening of the British
commitment to Hong Kong.
The Governor raised this matter with Home Office Ministers
during his visit and was told that although no decisions
had been taken the present plan was to introduce legislation
on 1977 Green Paper lines around the end of the year. We
will be recommending that the Secretary of State take up
the question with the Home Secretary. The need is to find
some way of meeting the concerns of Hong Kong and other de-
pendent territories without affecting the substance of the
proposal legislation.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN HONG KONG
Capital punishment has not been abolished in Hong Kong but
there have been no executions since 1966: all capital
sentences since then have been commuted by the Governor.
In 1973, a case arose in which he originally decided not to
commute. But when an appeal for clemency was addressed to
the Queen, the then Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary,
Sir Alec Douglas-Home, decided that he could not advise the
Queen to allow the law to take its course (at the time the
House of Commons was considering the question of capital
punishment in Northern Ireland and Sir Alec Douglas-Home
felt that it would be impossible in the circumstances to
/allow
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