TNAG-0969-FCO40-1188-Human-rights-in-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 16

Seventeen people decided to appeal their conviction and sentence,

On April 27, 1979, the High Court upheld the decision of the

lower court and dismissed the appeal.

The story behind the scene

These incidents were the culmination

of a long and hard struggle initiated by the boat people in 1977

and supported by community organizers, student groups, social

workers and concerned individuals in Hong Kong. Over a period of

2 years, the boat people held press conferences, seminars, community

meetings, all of which were unlicensed, peaceful and orderly,

and consistently sent letters to various government departments and

visited these offices. The boat people outlined their very serious problems and asked that the Government develop a comprehensive plan

for their rehousing on land. In legal jargon, they had completely

exhausted their administrative remedies and were left with one

final option to petition the Governor directly. For additional

information regarding the living environment of the Yaumatei

boatpeople and the numerous actions they have taken, see Appendix

1 and 2.

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2. VIOLATIONS OF THE COVENANT

The actions taken by the police and the decisions

reached by the judicial system violated specific articles of the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, mainly Articles 9, 19 and 21. Article 9 states that every person has the right to be secure in his/her society without fear of being arbitrarily arrested, but upon a lawful arrest, he/she should be

informed of the reasons for the arrest and the charges.

In the Yaumatei appellate case, Justice Cons of

the High Court made it perfectly clear that under the Public Order Ordinance, the police have the authority to stop any bus, even a tourist bus, and order the occupants to disperse, but he added that, of course, the police would not in fact exercise their authority "in such a cavalier manner ", In more concise terms,

Justice Cons interpreted the Public Order Ordinance to mean that the police have the power to stop any group of three or more persons without a licnese, question them, warn then and order them to disperse and if these persons refuse, the police may arrest them.

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