TNAG-1005-FCO40-1254-Capital-punishment-in-Hong-Kong-1981 — Page 75

Folio 65 #x1417 (1973)

Flag # Folio 78 Flag B

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125 TIKK14/1

(1974) Flags B&D

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#KG 380/1 (1978)

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Folios 141 01 +7

TKK 14/16 (1973)

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HKK 14/1 (1974)

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Folio 56 Flagk Folio 21

HKK 380/4(1477) Flag L

Folio 34 HKK 14/4 (1975) Flag Flags Noo

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Mr McQuade

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J AUG 1981

DANK OFFCER

Reference..

CONFIDENTIALayou. I have

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT → HONG KONG

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I have passed an all man maxwell our thanks to LRD. EpY2 Thank you very

your very nude you you help. Would you please thank the livary?

2118. × શાહ.

1. Your manscript minute of 10 August.

ibt.

The ashwers are as follows:

a) As far as we can trace from past papers, there have not been any

public announcements in Hong Kong using this argument for the reason given in Mr Clift's submission of 31 July:

b)

i) but the Secretary of State discussed it with Sir Y K Kan

on 6 June 1973;

ii) The Governor refers to this promise being well-known in

Hong Kong;

iii) The argument was mentioned in two letters from

Lord Goronwy-Roberts to Mr B Ford MP, on 26 July 1974 and to Mr L Carter-Jones MP on 18 October 1974;

iv) The position was put explicitly in a supplementary to a Lords

Oral Question on 19 January 1978 and in a supplementary to a Commons Oral PQ on 22 November 1978, but the material was not used.

i) Following the Tsoi case in May 1973, where the Governor was

overruled, various alternatives for resolving the problem were canvassed. The matter was submitted to a special Cabinet Committee in July 1973; Ministers agreed with the Secretary of State's recommendation to leave the penalty on the statute book and to keep the posilifton under review. No provision was made for cases where there were no apparent mitigating circumstances and where Parliamentary opinion in the UK was still opposed to capital punishment. The Governor, after receiving advice from the FCO and Home Office on various capital cases following Tsoi, reprieved each one since it was feasbile to enter pleas in mitigation against the death penalty; in most cases, there was strong opposition from EXCO although they complied with the Governor's decision. In March 1974, the Governor proposed that the Hong Kong law should remain unrepealed, the universally preferred course, and that he should continue to commute each sentence automatically ostensibly on the advice of EXCO whether or not there were mitigating circumstances. He believed that he would be able to persuade EXCO that this was a suitable interim solution; the FCO agreed, but pointed out that this understanding with EXCO should remain confidential and could only be informal. EXCO agreed that the Governor's proposal was the lesser evil of either abolition by Westminster or the Governor's being overruled. The position was held with some difficulty. In 1977 the Secretary of State minuted that the Hong Kong position must be held. In 1979/80, the Governor said that he believed he could sustain the system 'indefinitely'.

ii) In October 1975, the Governor reported that automatic

commutation was no longer acceptable to EXCO nor the community; a statement was deemed necessary. The revised text is attached; it was reported in the press at the time.

iii) It would not appear that the statement has been referred to publicly since 1975; the Attorney-General did mention

CONFIDENTIAL

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CONFIDENTIAL