Definitive Report - Report No 2, 1952

Case No 27 (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) - Complaint date: 01-JUL-51 - Closed

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A. A. The complainants' allegations
The Committee's recommendations

A. A. The complainants' allegations

Analysis of the Complaint
1. 59 The complainants make the three following allegations:
  - (a) In July 1950 the President of the Hong Kong-Kowloon Federation of Trade Unions and the President of the Kowloon Dock Workers' Union were deported without explanation.
  - (b) On 22 February 1951 the President of the Union of Hong Kong Naval Dockyard Workers, after he had negotiated on the dismissals of 15 members of his organisation, was arrested and deported.
  - (c) On 28 January 1951 the police searched the offices of the Hong Kong-Kowloon Union of Shipwrights, a worker on the premises being injured. Two officials of the union and one worker were arrested and interrogated for three hours.
2. Analysis of the Reply
3. 60 The deportations of the three officials mentioned in the first and second allegations, all of them Chinese nationals, were made under S.3 (1) (c) of the Deportation of Aliens Ordinance, 1935, which gives the Governor power to deport any person not being a natural-born British subject if he considers it is desirable for the public safety or in the interests of the peace or good order of the Colony.
4. 61 Regarding the third allegation, the union premises were only one of a large number of buildings searched by the police under legal warrants after information had been received by the police that armed communist action squads had entered the Colony to stir up serious internal disorders. No worker was injured. Chinese documents thought to be relevant were taken to the police station but translation thereof and a brief interrogation of those who had custody of them established the innocence of the persons concerned and they were released.
5. 62 The Government states that none of the actions complained of was connected with the trade union activities of the persons or organisations concerned. It adds that legitimate trade union activities are protected by law, that the unions are constantly given helpful advice by the Labour Department and that there are in Hong Kong over 270 unions with 145,000 members.

The Committee's recommendations

63. The United Kingdom Government has ratified the Right of Association (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947, in respect of Hong Kong.
64. The Government states in its reply that the deportation of the trade union officials was made in their capacity as aliens likely to endanger public safety or the interests of the peace or good order of the Colony and not because of their union activities. From the reply to the third allegation it is clear that the authorities were activated by fear of alien communist infiltration for unlawful purposes and that the police search was not directed against trade union premises in particular. Under the circumstances prevailing in Hong Kong the Committee considers that the allegations made are so purely political in character that it is undesirable to pursue the matter further and therefore recommends that the case does not call for further examination by the Governing Body. In making this recommendation, the Committee wishes to express its confidence that the Hong Kong Government will act with discrimination and humanity in exercising the right of deportation of aliens. The Committee also wishes to point out that it is not called upon to deal with the general question of the status of aliens not covered by international Conventions.