Asked by: David Simpson (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question
To ask the Prime Minister, whether he raised the issue of persecution and human rights abuse of Christians living in China during the recent state visit by President Xi Jinping.
Answered by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton - Foreign Secretary
I was clear during my wide-ranging discussions with President Xi Jinping of the importance that the UK attaches to human rights as part of our wider relationship with China. The joint statement reconfirmed our commitment to the Human Rights Dialogue, an important part of our engagement.
We raise the range of our human rights concerns directly with China, including during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, most recently in April 2015. We also highlight them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights. We will continue to pursue our concerns both privately and in public fora.
We believe that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. I remain concerned by the restrictions placed on Christianity in China. We are aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches, the removal of crosses from buildings, and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government had with the Chinese government during the state visit to London in October 2015 on reducing restrictions on the Christian minority in China.
Answered by Lord Swire
Religious freedom was not raised during the recent State Visit. However, the Prime Minister my Right Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) was very clear during his wide-ranging discussions with President Xi Jinping of the importance that the UK attaches to human rights as part of our wider relationship with China.
We believe that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. I therefore remain concerned by the restrictions placed on Christianity in China. We are aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches, the removal of crosses from buildings, and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs.
We raise the range of our human rights concerns directly with China. We do so during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, most recently in April 2015. We also highlight them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk). We will continue to pursue our concerns both privately and in public fora.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with its Chinese counterpart on the religious persecution of Christians in that country.
Answered by Lord Swire
We believe that Freedom of Religion or Belief is a fundamental human right, and its promotion and protection is a priority for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. People of all faiths should be free to practice their religion according to their beliefs, free from persecution.
I remain concerned by the restrictions placed on Christianity in China. We are aware of the closure or demolition of churches, and the removal of crosses from buildings, particularly in Zhejiang Province. We are also aware of reports that individuals are harassed or detained for practicing their beliefs.
We raised these, and the broad range of our concerns around religious freedom, directly with Chinese officials during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in April. We also continue to highlight them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk). We will continue to discuss our concerns with China as part of the wider bilateral relationship.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese government on the promotion of Christianity in China.
Answered by Lord Swire
Freedom of religion or belief is a human rights priority anchored in the Government’s manifesto. We regularly urge governments around the world to protect the right of all individuals, including Christians, to practise their religion or belief free from persecution or discrimination.
We remain concerned by all restrictions to freedom of religion or belief in China, including restrictions against Christianity. We are aware of reports that some church members have been harassed or detained, and that a number of churches in Zhejiang Province in particular have been forced to remove their crosses, close or be destroyed.
We raised these, and our broad range of concerns around religious freedom, directly with Chinese officials during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in April this year. We have also highlighted them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk).