Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of reports that Chinese authorities in Tibetan areas continue to severely restrict religious and cultural expression, freedom of speech, movement, and assembly.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. The UK regularly raises freedom of religion or belief directly with the Chinese authorities and via multilateral action at the UN. 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.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that UK businesses undertake supply chain due diligence regarding the reported human rights violations of workers in (1) Xinjiang, and (2) Tibet.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains seriously concerned about the gross human rights violations taking place in Xinjiang and Tibet. We continue to urge all UK businesses to conduct appropriate due diligence in their supply chains to satisfy themselves that their activities do not support, or risk being seen to support, any human rights violations or abuses. More broadly, we are funding think-tank research and engaging business and other stakeholders to share information and promote knowledge of China's human rights violations.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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.
Answered by Nigel Adams
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.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his UN counterparts on freedom of religion or belief in China.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We regularly discuss Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) with our international partners and raise concerns through multilateral fora, including the UN. For example, 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, especially in Xinjiang and Tibet. The Minister for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, has also discussed FoRB in China with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the FoRB Special Envoy on a number of occasions, most recently in September.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese Government on the reported detention of half a million Tibetans in forced labour camps.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We have raised our concerns about reports of forced labour in Tibet with the Chinese Embassy in London and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing. More broadly, as I set out to parliament on 7 October, we have consistently urged China to respect all fundamental rights in line with both its own constitution and the international frameworks to which it is a party.
On 6 October, the UK and 38 other countries joined a statement at the UN Third Committee in New York expressing deep concern at the situation in Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department’s speech transcript, UN Human Rights Council 45: UK statement on China for item 4 general debate published on 25 September 2020, what assessment his Department has made of the number of people detained without trial under Hong Kong's new National Security Law imposed by Chinese authorities and (b) what steps his Department is taking to address such a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Answered by Nigel Adams
Beijing's imposition on Hong Kong of the National Security Law (NSL) is a serious breach of the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration. It violates the high degree of autonomy of executive and legislative powers and independent judicial authority, provided for in the Joint Declaration. We understand that as of 12 October 2020, one person has been charged under the NSL and denied bail. According to the Hong Kong Police Force's latest figures, a further 27 people have been arrested under the NSL and released on bail.
The Foreign Secretary set out his concerns about the situation in Hong Kong to Chinese State Councillor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi on 8 June and 28 July. FCDO officials have also raised concerns about the arrests directly with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities, making clear that due process must be followed in all cases. On 25 September, the UK raised concerns about the NSL in our national statement at the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council on China, during the Item 4 general debate. On 6 October, we and 38 other countries expressed our deep concern on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN Third Committee.
The rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong must be upheld. We will continue to bring together our international partners to stand up for the people of Hong Kong and to hold China to their international obligations.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help UK businesses to ensure their supply chains do not include workers subject to human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet.
Answered by Nigel Adams
FCDO funded research into forced labour in Xinjiang has been crucial to raising global awareness of this issue. Officials regularly meet business and industry stakeholders to make them aware of the scale of forced labour and other human rights abuses in Xinjiang. We continue to urge all UK businesses to conduct appropriate due diligence to ensure their supply chains are free of forced labour. On October 6th, 39 countries joined a statement at the UN Third Committee expressing deep concern at the human rights situation in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet. This growing caucus willing to speak out reflects UK diplomatic leadership.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the political situation on the border of China and India; and what, if any, representations they have made (1) to support the agreement between the governments of China and India to disengage troops from the border and to avoid provocative actions, and (2) to bring about a permanent easing of tensions in the region, in particular in relation to Tibet.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister expressed his concern at increased tensions between China and India in the House on 24 June. We welcome recent progress between China and India to manage tensions along their disputed border and the meeting of Foreign Ministers Wang Yi and Jaishankar on 10 September. Both sides agreed a five-point plan to ease tensions, we encourage them to maintain dialogue and continue to monitor the situation closely.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the charges brought against a New York City policy officer for reportedly spying on Tibetan immigrants for the Chinese Government.
Answered by Nigel Adams
It would not be appropriate to comment on this ongoing case. With regards to the implications for UK policy, it is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on releasing prisoners of conscience Gedhun Choekyi Nyimain, Hu Chigen and Bishop James Zhumin due to the risk of covid-19 to detainees in overcrowded prisons.
Answered by Nigel Adams
The risk of the spread of COVID-19 in places of detention is a matter of concern around the world. We will continue to engage closely with the Chinese authorities on the COVID-19 crisis. We pay close attention to the human rights situation in Tibet, and raise our concerns with the Chinese authorities.