Parliament was at that time debating the abolition of
capital punishment in Northern Ireland and it was considered
unacceptable on political and racial grounds to be more
lenient to Irish terrorists than to a Chinese murderer in
Hong Kong. Since then commutation by the Governor has been
the rule.
5.
The Governor is opposed to disturbing the delicate
balance that has been achieved on this contentious issue by any action from outside Hong Kong and we have taken the view that it would be wrong to put pressure on Hong Kong in such a sensitive matter when we are seeking to build up the
territory's autonomy in the run-up to 1997. Formal abolition in Hong Kong would not, in any case, prevent the post-1997 government there from reintroducing the death penalty if it so chose.
HUGAAZ/2