Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Chinese Government on people being detained by the Chinese authorities in re-education camps.
Answered by Mark Field
We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. We are aware of credible reports of thousands of Uighurs being held in political re-education camps. UK officials recently visited Xinjiang to see the latest situation at first-hand, and found a heavy security presence on the ground. We raised our concerns in the UK statement at the Human Rights Council in June 2018 and with the Chinese authorities at the last UK/China Human Rights Dialogue which took place in June 2017. My officials will continue to monitor the situation in Xinjiang closely.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on significant numbers of people being detained by the Chinese authorities in re-education camps in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. We are aware of credible reports of thousands of Uighurs being held in political re-education camps. UK officials recently visited Xinjiang to see the latest situation at first-hand, and found a heavy security presence on the ground. We raised our concerns in the UK statement at the Human Rights Council in June 2018 and with the Chinese authorities at the last UK/China Human Rights Dialogue which took place in June 2017. My officials will continue to monitor the situation in Xinjiang closely.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng and his friends, Shao Zhong Guo, Li Fa Wang and Shi Da Cheng.
Answered by Mark Field
I am deeply concerned about reports that lawyers and their associates are being detained for carrying out their duties in China.
I receive a large amount of Parliamentary questions and correspondence on human rights in China, including on detained lawyers. The FCO maintains an extensive network of contacts across China and the UK and regularly meets with stakeholders to hear their views and concerns.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has raised with the Chinese authorities the detention of the family of Tashi Rabten.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
We are deeply concerned by reports that Tashi Rabten was involved in an act of self-immolation in Gansu Province on 8 December, and that members of his family have been detained by the Chinese authorities. We are seeking further information on the situation.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to ways to prohibit British citizens from travelling to China for the purpose of obtaining an organ transplant until the practice of forced organ harvesting ceases.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
I refer the noble Lord to the answer the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma) gave on 14 September in response to Written Question 45143 from the Hon. Member for Strangford (Mr Jim Shannon), copied below for ease of reference:
“As My Rt Hon. Friend, the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hugo Swire, stated to the house on the 12 July 2016, we have raised concerns about reports of organ harvesting, as well as about the torture and mistreatment of detainees, during the annual UK-China human rights dialogue. We will do so again at the next round. My officials also raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts on 1 September 2016. However, despite the fact that UK physicians always advise patients against, it is very difficult to prevent UK citizens travelling to less well-regulated countries to seek an organ transplant. Although numbers are not known, it is thought that very few patients in the UK choose to do so.”
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of the People’s Republic of China about releasing all human rights lawyers detained since July 2015, ceasing the harassment of lawyers and activists, and upholding the rule of law.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have repeatedly raised our concerns with the Chinese authorities about the detention, arrest and disappearance of Chinese lawyers and human rights defenders. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma), raised their cases most recently with the Chinese Ambassador on 1 August. We urge the Chinese authorities to release the detained lawyers and ensure all detainees have access to legal counsel of their choice.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of the practice of forced organ harvesting in China set out in the report published in June by David Kilgour, David Matas and Ethan Gutmann, and in the film <i>The Bleeding Edge</i>.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) stated to the House of Commons on the 12 July 2016, we have raised concerns about reports of organ harvesting, as well as about the torture and mistreatment of detainees, during the annual UK-China human rights dialogue. We will do so again at the next round which is scheduled to take place in October. My officials most recently raised the issue with the Chinese authorities on 1 September 2016.
The Kilgour/Matas/Gutmann report is an important source of information about China's organ transplant system, which we take seriously, but we are unable to substantiate all the evidence presented in the report. We have not assessed any evidence from 'the Bleeding Edge', as we understand it to be a semi-fictional feature film.We encourage the Chinese authorities to provide more information about the sources of organs for transplant, and about the implementation of existing Chinese regulations in this area.
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, if he will make representations to the Chinese government on banning organ tourism to China.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
As My Rt Hon. Friend, the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hugo Swire, stated to the house on the 12 July 2016, we have raised concerns about reports of organ harvesting, as well as about the torture and mistreatment of detainees, during the annual UK-China human rights dialogue. We will do so again at the next round. My officials also raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts on 1 September 2016.
However, despite the fact that UK physicians always advise patients against, it is very difficult to prevent UK citizens travelling to less well-regulated countries to seek an organ transplant. Although numbers are not known, it is thought that very few patients in the UK choose to do so.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which cases of people detained in China were raised during the state visit of President Xi Jinping in October 2015; and what assurances and undertakings were given in respect of those cases.
Answered by Lord Swire
During the State Visit, we made clear the importance that the UK attaches to frank exchanges with China on human rights. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt. Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised our concerns at the ongoing detention of Chinese human rights lawyers with the Chinese Foreign Minister and the President of China’s Supreme People’s Court (in January and June 2016). We will continue to make representations on a wide range of cases during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of China about (1) reports of a pastor’s wife who was buried alive during the demolition of a church in Henan Province; (2) the demolition of churches, and the imprisonment and detention of religious leaders; and (3) the disappearance of several Catholic priests in Hebei Province.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. We were concerned by reports that Ding Cuimei was buried alive on 14 April while protesting at the demolition of a church in Henan Province. We intend to raise Ding’s case at the next round of the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.
We are aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs. We are aware, too, of reports of the recent disappearance of a number of Catholic priests in Hebei Province, such as Father Yang Jianwei. We are concerned by all instances where the whereabouts of detainees remains undisclosed, and where detainees are held without access to legal counsel or visits from relatives.
We continue to raise the full range of our concerns about freedom of religion and the restrictions placed on Christianity with the Chinese authorities. We also place on record our concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy, published on 21 April, and in updates to it.