Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policy of China’s use of the charge of inciting subversion of state power to justify arrests and the detention of religious minorities, human rights activists, and critics of the government.
We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in China, including the continued harassment and detention of religious minorities and human rights defenders. We consistently raise our concerns directly with the Chinese authorities and in multilateral fora. Most recently, the Foreign Secretary underlined our concerns about human rights violations in China in an address to the UN Human Rights Council on 1 March. We continue to call on China to uphold its national laws and international obligations to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.