E
Position in the UK
CONFIDENTIAL
10.
The Minister asked for a comparison of practice in Hong
Kong and in the UK. In the UK's Third Periodic Report to the Human Rights Committee we said, in relation to persons subject to immigration control in the UK under the
Immigration Act 1971, that:
"The power to detain is used as a last resort, when there are clear and positive grounds for believing that the person will abscond if left at liberty, and after all the known circumstances of the person concerned have been taken into account. The cases of those detained are given the highest priority and the need for continued detention is regularly reviewed."
The
We explained that persons so detailed may apply to the independent immigration appellate authorities for bail. appellate authorities may require sureties to be provided before deciding to release a person on bail and may refuse to release on bail a person who has previously failed to comply with conditions of bail or is likely to commit an offence if released. We provided statistics on the numbers detained under deportation and illegal entry powers in the years 1986-88, which show that the vast majority of those detained were held less than one month. The full text of
The UK the UK report on this subject is at Annex E. practice does not provide a precise parallel to Hong Kong's practice with regard to VBPS in present circumstances, in that in the vast majority of UK cases where individuals are subject to deportation or removal orders, those orders can
be carried out.
International Repercussions
11. The amendments to the Hong Kong Immigration Ordinance raise the profile of Hong Kong Government's policy and make
TOMBAZ/5
CONFIDENTIAL
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