TNAG-0616-FCO40-764-Policy-of-UK-on-status-of-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 117

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Death Penalty

21. The death penalty still exists in Hong Kong and public opinion there is still strongly in favour of its being applied. Successive Secretaries of State have taken the view, however, that they could not carry the House of Commons in a decision to permit an execution to take place in Hong Kong and, in fact, no death sentence has been carried out since 1966. A particularly awkward situation arose in 1973 when the Governor had decided that

the law should take its course and that an execution should take

place, but the Secretary of State of the day advised The Queen to exercise the Prerogative of Mercy. This advice caused much resentment in Hong Kong on the grounds that local opinion had apparently been overruled by UK domestic political considerations. An announcement by the Governor in late 1975 that he would impose life sentences, save in exceptional circumstances, when commuting the death penalty, appeared to take some of the sting out of this issue but it remains a sensitive one, and is likely to be reopened if, for example, an execution were to take place in another dependent territory.

Constitutional Progress

22. There is a small but occasionally vociferous minority in Hong Kong, which enjoys some support in this country, in favour of progress towards some form of representative government. In fact, the Unofficial Members of the Executive and Legislative Councils form a coherent (though not constitutionally recognised) body known as UMELCO, which sees itself as the "popular" representative of the Hong Kong interest. The functions of UMELCO are more akin to those of Ministers than backbenchers although the analogy cannot be taken too far. They work very closely with senior officials in the preparation of legislation and over a wide field of administrative activity and policy formation. UMELCO also runs an office whose functions combine in part those of an Ombudsman and in part those of a UK Citizens' Advice Bureau. degree to which the members of UMELCO are representative of the people of Hong Kong is disputable. Since they are

The

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/appointed