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Following is a question by the Hon Ho Sau-lan and a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mrs Regina Ip, in the Legislative Council today (February 21):
Question:
Regarding the deportation and removal of persons, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) (i) of the number of removal orders made by the Chief Executive against undesirable immigrants under section 19(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115);
(ii) of the number of removal orders made by the Director of Immigration, a Deputy Director of Immigration or an Assistant Director of Immigration under section 19(1)(b) of the Immigration Ordinance against persons who did not have the right of abode in Hong Kong;
(iii) of the number of deportation orders made by the Chief Executive under section 20(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance against immigrants who had been found guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for not less than two years; and
(iv) of the number of deportation orders made by the Chief Executive on the grounds of public interest under section 20(1)(b) of the Immigration Ordinance
in the past three years;
(b) of the respective numbers of appeals which were allowed, petitions which were made for suspension or rescission of the above orders and the petitions which were allowed in each of the above categories of cases;
(c) whether it will consider publishing the above statistics regularly; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(d) whether it will consider requesting the Central People's Government to remove the reservation, in respect of "restrictions on expulsion from Hong Kong" when the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was extended to Hong Kong, which does not confer a right of review in respect of a decision to deport a person not having the right of abode in Hong Kong or a right to be represented for this purpose before the competent authority; if not, of the justifications for that?
Reply:
(a) & (b) Statistics on deportation and removal orders issued between 1998 and 2000 under the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) and statistics on appeals, petitions and objections made and allowed are as follows -
1998 1999 2000
---- ---- ----
(i) Removal orders 0 0 0
made under
section 19(1)(a)
(Remark 1)
(ii) Removal orders 1 130 1 206 4 325
made under
section 19(1)(b)
(Remark 2)
Statutory appeals 579 483 2 310
lodged (Remark 3)
- allowed (2) (0) (0)
- rejected (577) (481) (2 225)
- being processed (0) (2) (85)
(pending hearing of the
Immigration Tribunal or
verification of status of
the appellants concerned)
Non-statutory petitions 120 24 47
lodged
- allowed (5) (2) (0)
- rejected (114) (9) (23)
- being processed (1) (13) (24)
(pending the hearing of the
Court of Final Appeal on
the right of abode or
verification of status of
appellants concerned)
(iii) Deportation orders 538 690 504
made under
section 20(1)(a)
(Remark 4)
Statutory objections 1 0 0
lodged under
section 53
(Remark 5)
- rejected (1) (0) (0)
Non-statutory 26 26 32
objections lodged
- allowed (deportation (13) (6) (4)
order rescinded)
- allowed (deportation (2) (4) (7)
order suspended)
- refused or withdrawn (11) (16) (17)
- being processed (0) (0) (4)
(iv) Deportation orders 0 0 0
made under
section 20(1)(b)
(Remark 6)
(Remark 1): Under section 19(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance, the Chief Executive may make a removal order against a person if it appears to him that that person is an undesirable immigrant who has not been ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for three years or more.
(Remark 2): Under section 19(1)(b) of the Immigration Ordinance, the Director, Deputy Director or an Assistant Director of Immigration may make a removal order against a person who does not enjoy the right of abode in Hong Kong, or who does not have the Director's permission to remain in Hong Kong.
(Remark 3): A person against whom such a removal order has been made may appeal to the Immigration Tribunal within 24 hours against the order.
(Remark 4): Under section 20(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance, the Chief Executive may make a deportation order against an immigrant if the immigrant has been found guilty in Hong Kong of an offence punishable with imprisonment for not less than two years. The Chief Executive's power has been delegated to the Secretary for Security.
(Remark 5): An immigrant against whom a deportation order has been made may lodge an objection to the decision with the Chief Secretary for Administration within 14 days. Under section 53 of the Immigration Ordinance, the objection will be considered by the Chief Executive in Council.
(Remark 6): The Chief Executive may make a deportation order under section 20(1)(b) if he deems it to be conducive to the public good. The Chief Executive's power has been delegated to the Secretary for Security.
(c) The yearly numbers of removal and deportation orders executed are available on the homepage of the Immigration Department. They are also published in the Department's Annual Report and the Hong Kong Annual Report.
(d) Article 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides that an alien lawfully in the territory of a State Party to the present Covenant may be expelled therefrom only in pursuance of a decision reached in accordance with law and shall, except where compelling reasons of national security otherwise require, be allowed to submit the reasons against his expulsion and to have his case reviewed by, and be represented for the purpose before, the competent authority or a person or persons especially designated by the competent authority.
When the ICCPR was extended to Hong Kong by the Government of the United Kingdom in 1976, a reservation in respect of Article 13 of the ICCPR was entered on behalf of Hong Kong. This reservation is necessary to safeguard the integrity of our immigration control which must be vigorously enforced given Hong Kong's small land size and high population density. Our relative economic prosperity in the region will make Article 13 vulnerable to abuse if it is applied to Hong Kong. We have no plans to request the Central People's Government to withdraw the reservation. To do so will only cause confusion and may send a wrong signal to illegal immigrants. In any event, the existing appeal system for persons subject to removal or deportation has been working effectively. Persons concerned may also seek judicial review or petition the Chief Executive against a removal or deportation order under Article 48 of the Basic Law. There are ample opportunities for them to make representations or to seek redress.
End/Wednesday, February 21, 2001
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