TNAG-0318-FCO40-354-Legislation-for-immigration-and-deportation-in-Hong-Kong-1971 — Page 64

4. As regards paragraph 5 of your letter, experience

has shown that in the particular circumstances of

Hong Kong the powers to which you refer are

necessary in certain cases to prevent persons from

disappearing whilst their objections are being

considered.

J. It is assumed that paragraph 6 of your letter

Sub-

refers to Section 17 (1) (b) of the legislation:

Section

that Sub-clause relates only to persons who are

illegal immigrants or who are in breach of

conditions of stay. Under the new legislation a

conviction in such cases will no longer be a

prerequisite to the making of a Removal Order in

respect of such persons.

Before the enactment of

the legislation it had often proved necessary to

bring a prosecution for the sole purpose of enabling

the Governor to order removal when the public interest

would not otherwise have required that the offender

should be prosecuted. In the case of deportation

it is true that a legal conviction will not be

a prerequisite under the new legislation to the

making of a Deportation Order by the Governor-In-

but neither

Council; nor was it a prerequisite under the

^

previous legislation.

6. You may rest assured that there is no intention

to use the new legislation to stifle legitimate

criticism; nor, as explained in paragraph 3 above, does the legislation represent/diminution in the

basic legal rights of United Kingdom citizens.

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/any

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