DE PENALTY
Position
Line to Take
CONFIDENTIAL
- 5 -
:
The HK Belongers Association was reported in the South China Morning Post on June 14 to have called for reintroduction of the death penalty. It said criminals viewed the present automatic commutation of the penalty to life imprisonment as government weakness. This renewed public interest in the old issue and Urban Councillors, Dr Denny Huang, Maria Tam and Francis Chaine came out in favour of the penalty. Callers to RTHK's 'Talkabout' programme asked for it as a deterrent. Several Chinese papers lent support to the view. Following this outburst of interest the media turned to other more immediate matters. On July 16 Michael Chugani (SCMP correspondent in UK) filed a story on position of UK (non-intervention) vis-a-vis execution of death sentence in dependent territories, quoting a letter from Minister of State at the Foreign Office, Mr Nicholas Ridley to MP Mr Kenneth Marks. This rekindled interest all round. Heung Yee Kuk, Reform Club and Kai Fong leaders, in newspaper reports, joined the call for return of the penalty. This interest was not however sustained. At press conference on return from London on August 7 Sir S.Y. Chung noted the different views of Eastern and Western cultures and said that he understood that the British Government's position had not changed.
HK's position on the death penalty remains as stated by the then Colonial Secretary in LegCo in November 1975 - the deeply held feelings in HK are accepted, but anyone given a death sentence has a right of appeal to the Queen who would accept the advice of the Foreign Secretary based on the views of Parliament, which is unlikely to favour the penalty. This position has not been changed by the Ridley letter.
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES
Position
Line to Take
:
:
37,468 resettled in 1980, 14,679 so far this year. 14,756 remain, excluding 3,176 ex-China cases. Arrivals of boat people January 1 September 4, 9:00 a.m., 1981 were 7,309 (including 21 not yet investigated but excluding 3,396 confirmed ex-China cases). Fears of a new mass influx reported from time to time by the press and concern that recent arrivals have mostly come via China. Daily average of arrivals: 29.71 since January 1, 1981 but 40.82 since August 1, 1981. Comparative daily average figures for similar periods last year: 23.52 and 46.35 respectively. A BBC report on August 7 of a case of cannibalism on a VR boat caused a flurry. AFP reported on August 13 that a member of the US Congressional Committee reviewing America's refugee policy for next year said there could be a drastic cut back in Indo-Chinese refugees intake.
The Government is determined to see the resettlement of all remaining VRS. Negotiations will continue with other countries to press for more quotas. As announced on May 7, VRs who refuse offers without reasonable excuse and breach centre rules will be subject to confinement and fines. There is no evidence yet of a new mass exodus. There are arrangements with China to return those VRS who have previously settled there. Government is concerned and keeps constant watch on situation. US Government has not announced changes in its policies. HKG would not wish to comment on individual views (AFP report).
CONFIDENTIAL
16.
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