§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will publish a list of the past China-United Kingdom human rights dialogues, giving in each case the dates and places of the meetings and a list of the topics discussed. [HL4676]
§ Baroness AmosThe first dialogue was held in Beijing in September 1997. It was held annually (Beijing again in September 1998, London in September 1999) until 2000, when the biannual meetings started, as follows:
- 2000—February Beijing/October London.
- 2001—February Beijing/November London.
- 2002—May Beijing/tbc London.
We raise a full range of human rights issues at all our bilateral dialogues. These issues include (hut are not limited to): Tibet; freedom of religion; the criminal justice system; the treatment of dissidents: freedom of expression; freedom of association. At each round of the dialogue we hand over a list of individual cases. Recently we have begun to focus in more detail on one or two subjects. Thus in November 2001 we brought in experts to talk on the administration of criminal justice and the role of the media. In May 2002 we looked at the management of ethnic minority affairs.