§ Mr. StevensonTo ask the Prime Minister what improvements have been made by the Chinese Government in respect of(a) human rights and (b) the situation in Tibet since his discussions with Jiang Zemin in Beijing in October 1998. [92051]
§ The Prime MinisterWe continue to monitor the observance of human rights in China and the situation in Tibet. We regularly raise our concerns with the Chinese authorities. We are addressing the issue with China through our bilateral and EU/China human rights dialogues. Since October, two rounds of talks have taken place as well as three EU/China human rights seminars. China has signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and invited the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit. These positive steps will help to bring about China's closer co-operation with UN human rights mechanisms. We will continue to encourage China to ratify the international covenants which it has signed and we will continue to support developments in China's legal system which we believe will bring about positive change to human rights in the longer term.