§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the numbers of political prisoners in(a) Tibet and (b) China. [28325]
§ Mr. MacShaneAccording to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch there is a lack of conclusive independent information on the numbers concerned. Unofficial estimates of those imprisoned for political beliefs and activities are that they may number in the thousands, with many more in administrative detention. The detention of democracy activists and the widespread use of administrative detention are among the central concerns we raise with the Chinese authorities.