HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A OAA
The Hon. Francis Maude, MP,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
Whitehall,
LONDON, SW1A 2AH
9th July, 1990.
Dew Francis
Thank you for your letter dated 29th June on the subject of Civil Liberties in Hong Kong in which you put forward the excuse of sub judice for not sending a specific reply. However, you also leave unanswered my general point that you should reconsider the laws in Hong Kong which, in my opinion, will make it extremely difficult to conduct a proper election campaign. I think these need to be reviewed and, where necessary, repealed quickly and certainly before the campaign for direct elections to Omeico Legio takes place in 1991. I imagine there are quite a number of laws) on the statute book in Hong Kong designed to suppress campaigning for any particular point of view because there have been times of tension there in the past when it was thought necessary to control such activity for fear of starting riotous behaviour. As a young naval officer in 1955 I was required to help the Civil Authorities to quell such a riot and I am well aware why such laws are in existence but I do think the case brought to our attention by the Catholic Institute for International Relations points to the need for a total revision so that they are compatible with the democratic society we are trying to create.
Yous
Bower
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BOWEN WELLS, MP
1217/90
M. Maude by 23/7
Pshill Maude.
Al. Weff
1217