From The Minister of State
The Hon Francis Maude MP
A
Nigel Forman Esq MP
House of Commons
London SW1A OAA
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
11 October 1989
HKB 380/1
Dear Nied
Thank you for your letter of 6 September enclosing one from your constituent, Mr John F Peppard, of 117 Culvers Avenue, Carshalton, on behalf of the Sutton Group of Amnesty International. You asked for comments on what Mr Peppard has to say about the death penalty in Hong Kong.
As Mr Peppard says, all death sentences in Hong Kong have been commuted for many years (the last execution was carried out in November 1966). It is however clear, from surveys and from the views expressed by people at every level of society, that the great majority of people in Hong Kong would have preferred to see the death sentence carried out: there has certainly never been any significant local pressure for the death penalty to be removed from the Hong Kong statutes.
I understand the link which Mr Peppard is making between recent events in China and the prospects for Hong Kong after 1997. But he has perhaps overlooked the significance of the relevant provisions of the Joint Declaration, which stipulate that Hong Kong's existing legal and independent judicial system shall be maintained. The Chinese authorities have recently reiterated their commitment to the Joint Declaration and to the concept of "one country two systems": we have welcomed such statements as a necessary part of a process of regaining the trust of the people of Hong Kong after the tragic events of the summer.
FILE
22
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