CONFIDENTIAL
3. The vote came as something of a surprise and was due, in large part, to the skilful lobbying of Martin Lee and Martin Barrow. Motives of both supporters and opponents of abolition were undoubtedly mixed. A desire not to provoke a constitutional crisis with the UK, which Kingsley Sit's motion could have done, presumably played its part. certainly make HMGS position a lot easier, both in Parliament and with groups like Amnesty International, if
the Hong Kong Government does now decide on abolition.
The present position
It will
4. Hong Kong intends to consult ExCo in September after the summer break, with a view to introducing the necessary amending legislation into LegCo in the Autumn. They want to move carefully, and to gauge the feeling of the new LegCo as well as public opinion before coming to a firm decison. Meanwhile, the position remains as it has been since
November 1966. The death penalty stays on the statute book, but the Governor automatically commutes any death sentence handed down by the courts to a term of life imprisonment. ExCo gives its advice on the length of the prison term but does not advise on whether to commute.
The Chinese reaction
4. So far the Chinese reaction to the LegCo vote has been relaxed and PRC representatives in Hong Kong have refrained from expressing a view in public.
OAKAEE/2
CONFIDENTIAL