TNAG-0401-FCO40-447-Review-of-the-death-sentence-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 97

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HONG KONG

MAY

STANDARD

23RD. '73.

ཀཧཤ༽༼མ༽

INDEPENDIENT PEAGI PER ESTABLISHED 1849

, DAILY NEADERSHIP OVER 150,000

The twisted rope

IN the absence of any evidence that capital punishment may soon be abolished in Hongkong, the campaign launched by community leaders here for keeping the death sentence for murderers does not, on the face of it, make sense.

Nevertheless, the campaign serves one useful purpose. It has given an opportunity to a powerful section of public opinion here to express its disappointment with the recent decision of the Queen to commute the death sentence for a convicted killer, Tsoi Kwok-chcong. Coinciding as it did with the launching of the all-out war on crime in Hongkong, the reprieve created an unfortunate impression that the Queen's move was essentially a political decision ained at placating the anti-capital punishment lobby in Britain. Many community leaders and probably some officials here see in this an unfortunate attempt to settle a matter that wholly relates to Hongkong in the light of Britain's Own domestic political considerations.

The roprieve for Tsoi may not be an isolated case. Since a precedent has been established, many people here feel that no convicted killer in Hongkong will ever lang again and that next time a murderer, serving the death sentence, manages to send a petition to London, he (or she) will stand an excellent chance of being saved from the gallows. In other words, the death sentence may remain in Hongkong's statute book, but may never be put into effect.

It is also possible that while this slightly anomalous situation continues, the anti-capital punishment lobby in Britain will step up its campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in the colonies. With a bit of support from the "colony's white liberals", as the London Economist puts it, the campaign may eventually sooner rather than later achieve its objective.

It is of course utter rubbish to assume that the "white liberals" are the only ones in Hongkong who are opposed to capital punishment. There must be many, among Chinese as well as other Asians, who nurse scrious doubts about the death penalty as a deterrent against crime. Unfortunately, there are no absolute standards which can be used in deciding whether judicial murder may or may not be justified in certain circumstances. This is what makes it difficult for any one to take too emphatic a line either for or against retaining capital punishment in the Colony.

It is a good thing that the question is being debated in public. At the moment, the signature campaign lends support to the case for keeping the death penalty. This has a great deal to do with the current anti-crime campaign which every body wants to be a success. But sooner or later, the question should be seen in a larger perspective. 'It''' has serious social, moral and legal connotations. Instead of rushing to a decision now, it may be a good thing for the Government here to set up a high-level judicial commission to look into all aspects of the issue and take a line that serves the best interests of the people of Hongkong.