Written Evidence Sep. 08 2023
Inquiry: Heat resilience and sustainable coolingFound: Rapid warming in Tibet, China: public perception, response and coping resources in urban Lhasa.
Found: Witnessing for Freedom of Religion or Belief Bitter Winter Massimo Introvigne 17 April 2023 Tibet
Report Aug. 30 2023
Committee: Foreign Affairs Committee (Department: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)Found: s policy towards human rights in China—crucially including human rights in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet—cannot
Aug. 29 2023
Source Page: Foreign Secretary visits Beijing to further British interestsFound: will raise Beijing’s human rights obligations, including in relation to communities in Xinjiang and Tibet
Found: In 2017 the Mongolia and Tibet Affairs Commission was absorbed into MAC. 67 Act Governing Relations
Aug. 01 2023
Source Page: Fire risks of upholstered products: appendicesFound: =40&md5=cfbd4dd1410f1941c41a2fe45e1a73fa Precious skin: The rise and fall of the otter fur trade in Tibet
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that, despite protests, minarets and domes are to be removed from two mosques in Yunnan province, China; and what discussions they have had, or intend to have, with the government of China concerning threats to the freedom of all religions.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, including the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners. We are aware of reports of religious sites being altered or destroyed, against the wishes of worshippers.
We work within international organisations and networks to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
For example, in October 2022 we raised China's severe restrictions on religious practice in a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) alongside 49 other countries. At last month's UN HRC we made a statement urging China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet.
More generally, we regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. The Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with the Chinese Vice President in May 2023.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility with human rights of the reported "sinicization" of mosques and churches in China.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, including the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, and Falun Gong practitioners. We are aware of reports of religious sites being altered or destroyed, against the wishes of worshippers.
We work within international organisations and networks to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief for all where it is threatened, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
For example, in October 2022 we raised China's severe restrictions on religious practice in a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) alongside 49 other countries. At last month's UN HRC we made a statement urging China to reverse its ongoing, serious, and systematic human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet.
More generally, we regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. The Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with the Chinese Vice President in May 2023.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the People’s Republic of China on detentions of Buddhists in Tibet and across China.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Buddhists.
We work within international organisations and networks to promote and protect FoRB for all where it is threatened, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.
We coordinate with partners to draw international attention to the human rights situation in Tibet, most recently on 20 May 2023 in the G7 Leaders' Communique, and in March 2023, as part of our Item 4 statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC).
More generally, we regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. The Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with the Chinese Vice President in May 2023.