§ 7. Mr. Terry Walkerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the latest charges of corruption in Hong Kong.
§ Mr. LuardOn 7th April 20 serving Hong Kong police officers, four retired police officers and two Customs and Excise inspectors received summonses to appear in court on corruption charges. The Hong Kong Government remain determined to eradicate corruption from the territory. In this they have the full support of Her Majesty's Government.
§ Mr. WalkerDoes my hon. Friend appreciate that the whole status and 1364 credibility of Hong Kong is undermined by these charges of corruption, especially when they concern police officers? Will he ask my right hon. Friend to have talks urgently with the Hong Kong Government to ensure that we get to the bottom of the corruption in Hong Kong?
§ Mr. LuardI entirely agree that this is a major and serious problem. I assure my hon. Friend that we are in continuous contact with the Hong Kong Government on the matter. He may be interested to know that there have been 260 prosecutions and 130 convictions of police officers on corruption charges since the Independent Commission against Corruption was established three or four years ago.
§ Sir P. BryanDoes the hon. Gentleman agree that the commission has had a dramatic effect on corruption in general, and especially on syndicated corruption?
§ Mr. LuardI believe that the commission believes that it has largely eradicated large-scale syndicated corruption of the sort to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I agree with the hon. Gentleman. I think that there has been a significant change in Hong Kong as a result of the commission's activities. It would be an incredible task for it totally to eradicate corruption in a place such as Hong Kong, but there has been substantial progress over the past three years or four years.
§ 11. Mr. Hal Millerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent dismissals from the Royal Hong Kong Police, and on the present state of morale of that force.
§ Mr. LuardNotices of compulsory retirement under Colonial Regulation 55 were served on 118 officers of the Royal Hong Kong Police force on 7th April 1978. The force reacted calmly to this action, and continues to carry out its duties effectively.
§ Mr. MillerWill the Minister confirm that since those events there has been a very welcome reduction in the crime rate and an increase in the confidence of the public in the Hong Kong police force? Further, will he tell the House what recommendations the Home Office police team in the colony has made and what is being done to give effect to them to 1365 increase the administrative back-up for the force?
§ Mr. LuardI confirm that generally the situation in Hong Kong regarding the police and public support for the police are very satisfactory at the present time. I think that recent actions have helped to bring about that situation.
The report of the police team is not yet available. One of the objects of sending out that team was to help to restore morale within the police and to help generally in the improved organisation of the police force in Hong Kong.
§ Mr. Ronald AtkinsIs the inadequacy of the Hong Kong police force a reason why child labour continues to be employed on a large scale and why so many sweat shops continue to exist in Hong Kong?
§ Mr. LuardI think that my hon. Friend knows that the regulations governing the employment of child labour and other conditions of work in Hong Kong have been progressively and dramatically improved in the last year or so.