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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SWIA 2AH
From The Minister of State
17 September 1990
Dear Mr Well,
Thank you for your letter of 14 August to Lynda Chalker following up some points on civil liberties in Hong Kong.
You may rest assured that neither we nor the Hong Kong Government wish in any way to impede the development of democracy in Hong Kong. We took a substantial step forward in the process of democratisation by our decision to introduce 18 directly elected seats in 1991. It is crucial that these elections are a success. But this does not mean that those campaigning or protesting about a particular point should be entitled to disregard the law.
As Francis Maude pointed out in his letter to you of 29 June, regulations to restrict the use of loudspeakers and the collection of money are reasonable measures for the protection of the public. The laws involved are long standing and widely understood and respected by the community in Hong Kong. We, in the United Kingdom, also have laws relating to the use of loudspeakers and the collection of money which are designed for similar purposes, for example Section 62 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974 relating to noise - and the Street Collections (Metropolitan Police District) Regulations 1972 (S.1 1979 no 1230) relating to street collections.
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I note your suggestions about handling such incidents and about seeking an undertaking from the organisers not to infringe the law in the future. It was helpful to have your further comments on these matters.
Your sincuely
Ian hull.
1.1.
THE EARL OF CAITHNESS
Bowen Wells Esq MP
House of Commons
approved by the Minister and signet in
educac
LONDON
SW1A OAA
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