THE British Government is set to reject calls from both the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and Amnesty International for Hong Kong to have its own commission on human rights. The Foreign Office is currently working on its reply to the committee report on China and Hong Kong issued earlier this month. Officials admit that one of its tougher suggestions, that a human rights commission be set up, will be turned down. The official view will be that such bodies are ''toothless'' - the position taken by Governor Chris Patten in his initial response to the Amnesty International report on Hong Kong last week. But the real thinking is that China could soon override such a body and that drawing one up would only further incense Beijing, leading to accusations of continual interference in its internal affairs after 1997. The official reply to the Foreign Affairs Committee report is likely to be published towards the end of May or early June. Like the report itself, it will contain few surprises. News of the rejection was greeted with anger and dismay last night by legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing. ''If it's toothless, why not give it teeth,'' she said. ''The Governor said he would report in June, but if it's true what the Foreign Office is saying, then we hoped it would not be dismissed so quickly. ''The news does not surprise me, even though I am very disappointed. It is a deeply regrettable move and I hope the British Government will think again.'' But she promised Mr Patten would face a tough time in the Legislative Council if he knew in advance of his comments last week that the proposal would be turned down. ''After his performance last week I hope a decision has not been made. Otherwise, he can hopefully come up with some damn good arguments to justify what he said.'' She agreed with many observers that official opposition to a human rights body is aimed at placating China. ''That is the bigger concern. The governments in Hong Kong and Britain are just trying to pass the buck.''
