§ Mr. Abseasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Committee of Review established under the Hong Kong Emergency Regulations is an exclusively administrative and advisory body without any judicial functions; and what procedures for appeal were and are open to the 54 Chinese detained without trial.
§ Mr. WhitlockThe Committee of Review is a statutory advisory body, without any judicial functions, to which a detained person may lodge objections against his detention. The right to lodge such objections is notified to each detained person when the detention order is delivered to him or as soon as practicable thereafter. Such objections may be lodged immediately after the making of a detention order and thereafter at intervals of not less than two months.
§ Mr Abseasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the cases of the 54 Chinese detained without trial under the Emergency Regulations has not been brought before the Hong Kong judiciary.
§ Mr. WhitlockThe procedure laid down by Emergency Regulations makes no provision for persons detained under those regulations to be brought before the Judiciary. The persons concerned 353W were dealt with under Emergency Regulations for the reasons given in my reply to the hon. Member for Richmond, Surrey (Mr. A. Royle) on 10th December. Sixteen now remain in detention.—[Vol. 775, c. 86-7.]