Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the detention of Gao Zhisheng in China; and what representations he has made to his Chinese counterpart on Mr Gao Zhisheng's behalf.

We have followed Gao’s case closely and welcomed his release from prison on 7 August 2014. We are concerned by reports that he has been in ill health since his release, and that his movement is restricted. We urge the Chinese authorities to allow him access to adequate medical care, and to ensure that his rights to freedom of movement and communication are duly protected.

UK officials have repeatedly raised Gao’s case with the Chinese government, including during the most recent UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in May 2014, and again prior to his release. We highlight our range of human rights concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy, and the quarterly updates to it.