§ Vernon CoakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was discussed at the Human Rights Dialogue held between the United Kingdom and China in May. [69927]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe eighth round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue took place in Beijing on 15 May.
The theme of this round was the management of ethnic minority affairs. In this context, the talks in Beijing were preceded by a four-day field trip to Gansu Province where the UK delegation visited both Tibetan and Muslim minority groups. The UK delegation included a senior British expert on race relations.
At the main session of talks in Beijing, the UK delegation raised a wide range of human rights concerns including: Tibet and Xinjiang; freedom of expression, religion and association; Falun Gong; criminal justice issues, including the death penalty; North Korean refugees; co-operation with UN human rights mechanisms, including visits by special rapporteurs; the ratification of the ICECSR and ILO Conventions; and the blocking of the BBC World Service website and Mandarin Service. The UK delegation also discussed the programmes of practical co-operation between the UK and China to promote human rights and the rule of law.
They raised over 50 individual cases of concern.