TNAG-0487-FCO40-552-Review-of-death-sentence-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 176

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Sir D Watson

PS/Mr Goronwy-Roberts

CONFIDENTIAL

THE DEATH PENALTY IN HONG KONG

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The death penalty for murder still exists in Hong Kong, as

in other dependent territories, though no-one has been hanged in the

colony since 1966. Chinese public opinion in Hong Kong is strongly

in favour of capital punishment. But because Legislative and

Executive Councils are not elected and are advisory to the Governor,

the ultimate legislative and moral responsibility for the death

penalty still rests with HMG.

2.

The exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy where a person

in Hong Kong is sentenced to death under the existing law, rests

with the Governor personally, in accordance with the Letters Patent

and Royal Instructions of Hong Kong. There was a difficult moment

in the summer of 1973 when the Governor felt that, as the law stands,

he had no alternative but to allow it to take its course in the case

of Tsoi, who had been convicted of murder in a particularly bad case.

This coincided with the debates in the House on the death penalty

generally and in Northern Ireland. Trouble in Parliament was then

avoided by the use of the Queen's residual Prerogative of Mercy to

reprieve Tsoi in London.

3. This was difficult for the Governor, whose position in Hong

Kong could become impossible if he were to be publicly overruled

again. This gave rise to the possibility of action by HMG to abolish

the death penalty altogether, as an alternative to overruling the

Governor if a similar case should re-occur. So far there has been

CONFIDENTIAL

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