TNAG-0555-FCO40-650-Review-of-death-sentence-in-Hong-Kong-1975 — Page 7

CONFIDENTIAL

RECORD OF A MEETING BETWEEN LORD GORONWY-ROBERTS AND THE GOVERNOR

OF HONG KONG HELD IN THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE ON

TUESDAY 2 DECEMBER AT 10.45 am

Those Present:

Lord Goronwy-Roberts

Sir Duncan Watson

Mr Larmour

Mr Male

'Mr O'Keeffe

Mr Galsworthy

Mr Hurst, Deputy Labour Adviser

Mr Milton

Mr Janvrin

DEATH PENALTY

3.

Sir Murray MacLehose

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Mr Kidd, Hong Kong Government

Office

WEED/SUS MKK 14/4

120g/Action on

Lord Goronwy-Roberts said that the decision to impose full life imprisonment when commuting death sentences seemed to have been well received in Hong Kong and asked whether it had taken some of the steam out of the death penalty issue. The Governor said that he did not think so: the man in the street in Hong Kong would not believe that the Government was sincere in its fight against crime until it reinsti- tuted the death penalty. In answer to the Unofficials' speeches the Colonial Secretary had recently given in detail the reasons why the death penalty was not carried out in Hong Kong and an explanation that the Governor would do the maximum in his powers to achieve the same result, namely by imposing full life imprisonment on commutation. It was accepted by informed opinion in the Colony that this was the only possible course at present. The hope was that UK Parliamentary opinion would change at some stage. The Governor said that how long this arrangement would hold depended on events; a number of particularly nasty murders might well spark off the issue once more. He appreciated that it was difficult for public opinion in the UK to understand the mood on this issue in Hong Kong.

4.

In answer to a question from the Minister the Governor said that he was obliged to report the outcome of his representations on this issue in London. He would have to say that he had represented the near-unanimous views of the Hong Kong Government to HMG in the strongest possible terms. These were that HMG's position amounted to a mis-use of the Royal Prerogative and Parliamentary power. HMG's attitude was bitterly resented in the Colony. In reporting the outcome of his representations he would say that this was a matter of the balance in Parliament and that the Secretary of State feels that the decision was as much out of his hands as out of the Governor's. Sir Duncan Watsox. pointed out that it could be argued that (a) any advice given to The Queen did not concern itself with miscarriages of justice as is normal

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/when considering