Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Chinese counterpart on the detention of the Chinese human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng.

We are deeply concerned about the case of Gao Zhisheng, particularly after his reported disappearance in August. We are continuing to seek further information about his whereabouts and his condition.

We raised Mr Gao’s case with the Chinese authorities in a list of ‘cases of concern’ ahead of the UK/China Human Rights Dialogue in June 2017.

My officials met Gao Zhisheng’s daughter, Grace Gao, and representatives of a UK NGO on 16 October to discuss his case and obtain more information.