TNAG-2696-FCO40-3902-Hong-Kong-crime-1993 — Page 42

CONFIDENTIAL

XCC(93)25

BACKGROUND AND ARGUMENT

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On 20 October 1992, following consideration of memorandum XCC(92)160 (a copy of which is at the Annex), the Council ADVISED and the Governor ORDERED, among other things, that -

(a) capital punishment should be abolished as the sentence

for any offence;

(b)

life imprisonment should be made the mandatory sentence for murder, treason and piracy with violence; and

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(c) the Crimes (Amendment) Bill 1992 should be

introduced into the Legislative Council.

The Bill was given its first reading in the Legislative Council on 11 November 1992 and is now at the Committee Stage. The Bills Committee set up to consider the Bill supports the main proposal to abolish capital punishment. However, it considers the offences of treason and piracy with violence to be different in nature and seriousness from murder. It, therefore, favours a discretionary, rather than a mandatory, life sentence for these offences. It feels strongly that the Administration and the Legislative Council should be united on this whole matter as far as possible, because public opinion is still divided on the question of capital punishment. The Committee has asked the Administration to initiate the amendment and present it to the Legislative Council. It feels that this would help gain greater support among Legislative Councillors for the Bill.

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There are no strong arguments for us to resist the Bills Committee's suggestion, other than the concern about Chinese sensitivities. The crimes of treason and piracy with violence are very different in nature from murder, and it was the Administration's original proposal that a discretionary life sentence would be the appropriate penalty for treason and piracy with violence. Against this background, and in view of the desirability of consensus on this potentially controversial bill, we propose that the Administration should go along with the Bills Committee's suggestion and move a Committee Stage amendment to the Bill in the Legislative Council.

Executive Council