B
FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW
January 9, 1969
if the Special Branch said "X ought to be detained", the -law officers would not feel themselves in a position to do any- thing but go along with the request. Government is assum ing the role of prosecutor, jury and judge. The number of acquittals in the ordinary courts shows how many times the reasonable suspicions on which the police and law officers have together acted to put suspects on trial have been proved false,
more
Similarly, official statements on the limitation of the period of detention are more theoretical than real. Therer is nothing to prevent a further detention order being made, when the first' expires, the safeguards on the second being as inadequate as on the first. It is impossible to accept the statement: that only one has been held for than a year; it can be established that at least five men were detained without trial for periods of well over One year. The official claim about the legal require ment to release detainees when they are no longer a threat to security is simply not true. In the same way that the Colonial Secretary is not required to have a reason for de- taining a person in the first place, so he is not required to have any reason or justification for continuing the detention.
As to the Government's claim that it has used its powers with moderation, it is difficult to judge. It is wrong that there is no obligation to state the names and addresses of all those detained and to announce their subsequent release. It means it is impossible to check on the way the power is being used. In any event, we may recall the words of K. Griflith, MP, in the Commons debate on Regulation 188 in 1939: “It is not sufficient for the Minister to say, amidst considerable approval for him personally, I am not the sort of person who would use these powers badly.' We canno have any such confidence A Minister may be succeeded It seems a vicious by somebody who holds other views .. principle to justify unsound legislation by a blind confidence that it will not be used in the sense in which it has been put on the Statute Book.”
1
75
While it is true that Government is in the best position to judge security matters, it cannot escape the visible evidence that the Colony has by now returned to normal. The Colony will never be entirely free from the threat of disturbances, but that does not justify the retention of the totally unfettered power contained in Regulation 31. On the one hand, the Government is saying that the power will be surrendered as soon as the emergency is over, but on the other hand that ^ it ought not hastily to repeal Regulation 31 because its existence prevents the emergency from. recurring. This is circular.
The words of Herbert Morrison, MP, on Britain's Re- gulation 18B, are very pertinent: "I think that any Minister is capable of being wicked when he has a body of regulations like this to administer." The fact that Government has been dishonest in its statements about the regulations does not give confidence that it is incapable of abusing its power. It is not hard, for example, to imagine the regulation being used against genuine but militant trade unionists. It is quite wrong that even a male fide use of the power cannot be challenged in the courts; habeas corpus will only lie if the Judicial person detained is not the person named in the order. review is entirely excluded.
The law-abiding have reason to fear Regulation 31 be cause there is little safeguard against either genuine errors or the malevolence either of informers or officials. Moreover, if all the detainees were "openly and deeply involved" in violence as the authorities assert, it is rather difficult to see why the trial process was not appropriate. And how can we be confident that all the detainees were justly detained if the machinery for preventing errors and abuse is so manifestly inadequate?
The obvious conclusion is that Regulations 29, 30 and 31 require amendment. There seems no good reason (pace the President of the Law Society) for keeping quiet about Regulation 31 until after the emergency is over. Apart from the fact that it appears to have already ended, the time to protest against an evil is surely while the evil exists.
· Quotations for Selected Hongkong Shares-
Closing Sale
Up or Dowu
Divisionals
Yearly
Closing Sale
Lp or Down
Dividends
Yearly
Kate
VA
Shere
Jul. 3
Hates 1963+49
High Previous
Low $ Weck
Rale
on
$
5
Interim Final
$
Yield
on
Previous
Rates 1963-69 Higs
or
Low
Interim Final
Yield
%
Share
Jan. 3
•
Weck
$
$
S
•
it.. Bank ...
2120.00
202.00
121.00)
2.80 5.20
4.00
(P. Pd.)
17.500
18.70
17.00
1.25
2.14
Lond. Arg.
196.00
196.00 121.00
2.80
5.20
4.08
China Light
31.50
+ 1.60
31.75
15.30
1,56
4.95
Bank of EA.
208.00
1.00
· 133.00
65.00
3.50MT
9.17
H.K. Elec.
28.00
+ 0.50
29.00
18.30
0.80
1.10
6.57
Lombard Juk
39,000
42.0)
37.50
2.70
6.92
Macao Electric
4.30a
6.00
4.80
NIL
NIL
China Und.
7,000
17.80
7.0
019*0
8.57
II.X, Tel.
28.70
of $1.5M
29.70
18.30
0.55
1.20
6.10
Hutchison
12.40
-- 0.20
12,0
4.75
0.20
0.40
$.65
· H.K.
Gas
13.00
14.80
10.00
0.40
0.60
7.69
Allied Invest
7.35
--- $.05
7.50
3.26
0.35
4.76
Jardine
24.20
+ 0.70
24.20
11.60
0.40
0.75
4.75
11.K..
Invest.
17.00
+ 0.40
17.00
9.90
0,45
0.70
6.76
G.J. Cemest
21.90
- 1.20
26.00
12.50
NIL
NIL
Lost & invest,
1.49
+ 0.113
1.56
4.91
0,00
4.03
Metal Ind.
6.00
0.55
6.00
2.95
0.375
6.25
Vie. La'l Inv.
8.8
8.80
7.85
U.1$
2.05
Amoy Can Ez Dir
25,00
26.481
24.00
3.00
12.00
2
11.5.4.
5.85
+ 0.15
$.00
5,55
Watson
62.0)
-0.50
€5.50
37.25
7.2.20
2.50
7.58
Wherlock
9.35
+ 0.25
10.00)
5.65
4.20 0.40
6.42
II.K. Breweries
18.50
+ 1.00
48.50
22.30
2.70*
5.57
1. Wuterbuat
J5.30
0.50
16.60
10.6#
1.40
9.15
HARCO
43.75
46.75
38.00
1.00 2.20
7.11
Asia Nav.
190
0.10
2.55
1.90
0.08
4.21
Dairy Facta ..
48.50
1.50
50.50 33.00
1.20
·2.45
7.53
11.K, Whart
20.70
+ 1,60
22.60
10.70
1,20
5.80
Lane Crawford
34.00
0.50
35.00 !
18.30
2.50
7.35
1.K. Dock
43.25
#1.75
44.50
24,40
2.001t
5.7x
Sincesa
6.500
6.80
4.40
NIL
NIL
China PraY.
18.40
+- 0.20
20.30
12.00
0.50
0.80P
3.04
China Erap,
17.70
·+ 0.60
19,00
13.50
1.20
6.73
Taikan Dork
28.30
-0.50
28.50
14.40
1.10H
7.42
Sun Co. Ltd
2.95
+ 0.15
3.00
2.75
0.20
-6.77
ILK. Land
58.50
+2.50
58.50
30.25
1.65
1.75
5,81
K. S. Hung
11 Realty
1.47
+ 4.02
1.83
0.84
0.06
3.59
Wing Oa
188.00% -
96.50
210.00
180.00
6.00
9.00
7.95
1.00
97.50
66.00
6.00**
8.29
Humphreys
23.20
+ 0.40
24.50
14.90
· 1.80
7.76
Chins Ext.
22.50 + 0.50
42.00
17.60
NIL
NIL
1. 1. & P.
31.25
1.25
3-4.)
24.00
2.75
8.80
H.K. Coast,
17.800
22.10
17.80
0.25
2.10
13.20
IK
Wotels
29.20
0.30
30.00
1.00
1.50
5.14
Vibro Pii.
3.00a
4.00
3.60
NIL
NIL
City Hotels
$1,90
+/- 0.10
12.30
5.10
0.70
5.88
Textile Corp.
8.50
+0.25
9.30
3.
0.70
9.24
Chinese Estates
780,000
850,00
XX
15.00
55.00
H.98
Nanyang Mijās
12.20
- 0.20
13.00
4.30
0.35
2.97
Star Felty
25.80
0.20
23.20
16,00
0,50
0,60
4.25
S. Sea Textile
17,80
of 0.20
17.90
9.70
1.10
6.13
Yagmati
$5.50
+1.50
56.50 32.75
1.00
3.60
7.21
Text. All
24.90
26.10
4,90
0.60 0.75
5.42
11K. Tranaway
12.40
+ 0.40
13.30
9.00
0.35
0.65
8.06
Rubber Trust
5.80
6.55
3.50
0.68
0.47
9.48
K.M.I.
28.60
0.40
29.50
14.39
1.00
3.50
Amal Rubber
1.71
+ 0.03
1,99
1.08
0.03
0.09
7.02
M.B.
23.60
27.60
13.30
1.30
5.51
Shanghai Kel,
6.97n
1.04
0,90
0.03
3.02
Peak Trans
32.00A
40.56
31.50
2.50
7.81
Sungla
2.90a
3.05
2.90
0.0%
0.12
5.86
- Nutniasl. • Dividends paid quarterly,
Elus Bonus: † 20 t1$0.50
ttt$1.00.
*$2.00,
Source: Weekly Report, Hängkong Stock Exchange Lid,
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.