TNAG-0802-FCO40-1006-Immigration-from-China-to-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 215

amnesty international

Lee (99

११

International Secretariat, 10 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7HF, England Telephone: 01-836 7788 Telegrams: Amnesty London Telex: 28502

98

XXX

to

20 July 1978

SGO/AL/MM

HKK 341/1 RAZILO IN RED.JARY MO. 51

2 7 JUL1978

DESK OFFICER

PA

REGISTRY

Action Teen

MIDEX

No

The Rt. Hon. David Owen

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street

London SW1

FOREIGN

25 JUL 1978

ALLOCATIONS SECTION

Dear Foreign Secretary

I am writing to you about the case of a resident of Hong Kong whose circumstances are of concern to Amnesty International.

According to an article in Le Monde of 6 July 1978, a copy of which is attached, Mr Yau Ying-fu, aged 72 and living in the New Territories, was sentenced recently in Hong Kong to six months' imprisonment for giving food and shelter to four persons who, one morning, had arrived exhausted at his place after swimming from the People's Republic of China. This article reports that the main charge against Mr Yau was that he allowed the refugees to phone their relatives in Hong Kong.

Amnesty International is deeply concerned by this report which indicates that Mr Yau Ying-fu was sentenced to imprisonment for following his con- science by sheltering four exhausted refugees. In view of this, I would deeply appreciate receiving full details about the case from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Yours sincerely and respectfully

enc

Martin Ennals Secretary General

Amnesty International is a worldwide human rights movement which works impartially for the release of prisoners of conscience: men and women detained anywhere for their beliefs, colour, ethnic origin, sex, religion or language, provided they have neither used nor advocated violence. Amnesty International opposes torture and the death penalty in all cases without reservation and advocates fair and prompt trials for all political prisoners. Amnesty International is independent of all governments, political factions, ideologies, economic interests and religious creeds. It is financed by its membership and by subscriptions from all parts of the world. Amnesty International has consultative status with the United Nations (ECOSOC), UNESCO and the Council of Europe, has cooperative relations with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, and has observer status with the Organization of African Unity (Bureau for the Placement and Education of African Refugees).