Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussion he has had with his Chinese counterparts on press freedom and the rights of journalists in that country.

We regularly raise the deteriorating situation for journalists in China with the Chinese authorities, including cases such as the sentencing of citizen journalist and rights activist Huang Qi. British diplomats regularly seek to attend trials of journalists and human rights activists in China to show support.

We also raise our concerns publicly where appropriate. In March, we highlighted concerns about media freedom in China in our 'Item 4' statement at the Human Rights Council. In November, the FCDO Minister for Human Rights issued three tweets on China's mistreatment of journalists to mark International Day Against Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.