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appointed Ministers. These ideas need to be further refined but I believe that the underlying idea is imaginative and progressive.
On the
Hong Kong, these proposal for an Official Representative in
Hong Kong, the Governor has explained to me the dangers he sees for Hong Kong (about which I know that you had some doubts). Such a Representative, who would have to have special status, would be seen as an alternative source of power in the Colony. His appoint- ment would damage general, not only business, confidence in the Colony. This could create serious, though probably not insuperable, problems now. Moreover, if there were a repetition of 1967, we would have a direct clash within the Colony with the Official Representative of the Chinese Government, forcing an overt division of loyalties in the population. This has not happened before, and could be very dangerous. The Chinese are not pressing their claim hard at the moment: if they do, we might have to think again. But for the moment I think that there is less danger in continuing to refuse the Chinese request than in allowing it.
5. The death penalty presents us with substantial political difficulties. The Governor has represented to me that public opinion in Hong Kong is strongly in favour of the death penalty in extreme cases and does not understand why executions are prevented, as it thinks, for UK reasons that have nothing to do with Hong Kong. All my advice indicates that the Governor's assessment of the situation in the Colony is correct. On the other hand I do not believe that it would be possible for Ministers to allow another execution to take place in Hong Kong. There has been none since 1966 and last year Sir Alec Douglas-Home advised The Queen to use Her residual Prerogative of Mercy to reprieve a Hong Kong murderer who would otherwise have hanged.
6. The Governor has been able to persuade his Executive Council to acquiesce in reprieves in all subsequent cases. But this has rested on no more than his own statement to them of his belief that HMG would not countenance another execution. If he is to hold them to this line he needs confirmation from us that his judgment is correct. Even this may not be enough to persuade Executive Council, and I fear that sooner, or later we shall be faced with a conflict on the point between Hong Kong and the UK.
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