TNAG-0912-FCO40-1122-Policy-on-housing-and-resettlement-in-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 109

|CONFIDENTIAL

85

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

布政司署

港下亞畢道

本署檔號 OUR REF: CR 2/3371/79

* Your Ref.:

122/√i

Mr Williqulson

57

R.J.T. McLaren, Esq.,

Hong Kong and General Department,

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, LONDON, SW1A 2AH

Dear Robin,

Boat Dwellers in Hong Kong

13th June, 1979

2

jia

HKK 360/2

DECEIVED IN BROSIM NO. 51 25 JUN 1979

DESK 042«?K INDEX

ло

No 1222.22

Thank you for your letter of 20th March 1979 addressed to Bim Davies, enclosing Lord Goronwy-Roberts' letter to Mrs. Elliott, which Bim duly forwarded to her.

J256

2. The background material we have provided rightly emphasises that the Police were faced with a group of people who were intent on deliberately breaking the law, as they had on previous occasions, and indeed they courted and positively welcomed Police action against themselves, with all the attendant publicity. The demonstrators had been advised of the need for a permit, and would have been given one had they applied. They chose otherwise.

3. Having twice warned the group that they were in breach of the law, the Police were obliged to act and remove the persons present. The Police would have been irresponsible and open to crititism from other quarters if they had removed the adults only and left the children by the side of the extremely busy road (no pavements). All those present were therefore taken into custody.

4.

Where children over the age of criminal responsibility are actively involved, the Police are always in the invidious. position of having to decide who or who not to prosecute. In this instance, in retrospect, we agree that it would have been better to charge the adults only, and to release the children after formalities were completed. As it turned out the Police chose not to proceed with the case against the children when they appeared in court on 8th January.

Yours ever

Grott

(G.T. BARNES)

CONFIDENTIAL