Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the human rights situation in that country.

We remain concerned by the human rights situation in China, particularly in relation to civil and political rights. As noted in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk), the climate for human rights defenders and civil society is very difficult in China, and restrictions to ethnic minority rights continue. We are concerned that individuals continue to be detained for the peaceful expression of their views, and that some detainees are not permitted adequate medical care.

We consistently raise our concerns with the Chinese authorities, not least through the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, last held in April. I raised a number of my concerns with Ambassador Liu Xiaoming earlier this month, and publicly highlighted the range of my concerns on the situation in Tibet during a Westminster Hall Debate on 18 June. We also continue to make representations in international fora such as the UN Human Rights Council.