(15 May)
May) the
Secretary of the Queen proceed to exercise her avoid an open
State advised that should TSOI's petition to he would feel compelled to advise her
On that basis and to prerogative. constitutional crisis between Hong Kong and London, the Governor agreed to commute.
9
The Secretary of State's advice brought the debate on capital punishment to a head in Hong Kong. The majority of local public opinion was strongly in favour of capital punishment and, indeed, of an extension of offences punishable by death. Despite the communication of these sentiments to the Secretary of State, the view of HMG was expressed categorically the Secretary of State would always advise the Queen to commute SO long as the balance of opinion in Parliament remained unchanged.
The Colonial Secretary's Statement
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At the beginning of the 1975-76 session of the Legislative Council there were renewed demands (by Unofficial Members) for the carrying out of the death penalty. In reply the Colonial Secretary made the following statement
"Any prisoner sentenced to death in Hong Kong has the right to petition Her Majesty the Queen for clemency. The Queen, in reaching her decision acts upon the advice of the appropriate United Kingdom Minister, namely the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. In tendering his advice to
to the Queen the
the Secretary of State must take into account the likely reaction in the United Kingdom Parliament, to which he is answerable, for the advice which he tenders to Her Majesty. Recent Secretaries of State have been of the opinion that they would not be supported by the House of Commons if they were to advise that death sentences should be carried out in Hong Kong. Moreover, there are no signs that this attitude of the House of Commons is likely to change in the immediate future.
of
"I well understand the sense frustration of Honourable Members which is shared by your government.