Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer on 11 November 2020 to Question 110830, whether he has recently made representations to the Chinese Government on freedom of religion or belief violations in China.

The UK regularly raises Freedom of Religion or Belief directly with the Chinese authorities and via multilateral action at the UN. The Foreign Secretary has personally raised our serious concerns with his Chinese counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on a number of occasions, most recently in late July. On 6 October, the UK and 38 other countries joined a statement at the UN Third Committee in New York calling on China to respect human rights, particularly the rights of persons belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, including in Xinjiang and Tibet.