China (Hansard, 23 November 1994)

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs if he will place in the Library copies of reports on population control in China received by his Department from the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations fund for population activities.

§ Mr. Baldry
Copies of the United Nations Population Fund 1993 inventory of population projects and the International Planned Parenthood Federation 1994 annual report supplement will be placed in the Library of the House, together with a copy of China's national report to the international conference on population and development.

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the reasons why the Chinese Government bans the publication of official statistics on methods of population control.

§ Mr. Baldry
We understand that the Government of China does publish yearly statistics on the number of people using contraceptives, including information on methods used.

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had with representatives of the People's Republic of China at the international conference on population in Cairo.

§ Mr. Baldry
The United Kingdom delegation participated with Chinese and other delegations to the international conference on population and development in discussions on reproductive rights and a range of other issues.

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings his Department has had with the Chinese embassy to discuss Chinese population control policies.

§ Mr. Baldry
Officials from my Department meet on a regular basis with officials from the Chinese embassy to discuss a range of issues, including population.

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on the reasons for the prevalence of sterilisation as a major method of population control in China.

§ Mr. Baldry
Sterilisation is an important method of contraception for couples who have completed childbearing in many countries, not just China. It is one of the most popular methods of contraception in the United Kingdom.

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what statistics are used by198W his Department to assess the effect of Chinese population control policies on the human rights of Chinese women.

§ Mr. Baldry
Reliable statistical data relating to alleged abuses of women's human rights in population programmes are not available.

§ Mr. Alton
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department had about Chinese population control with representatives of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations fund for population activities at the international conference on population in Cairo; and with what results.

§ Mr. Baldry
Officials met with staff from the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations population fund at the international conference on population and development and continue to have dialogue with these two organisations. Both organisations remain committed to promoting better reproductive health care and free choice.