Written question asked by David Amess (Conservative) on Tuesday, 25 May 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 27 May 2010. It was answered by Jeremy Browne (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 9 June 2010 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Chen Guangcheng

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department had had discussions with the Government of China on the case of Chen Guangcheng; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: We have raised our concerns about the case of Chen Guangcheng with the Chinese authorities on three occasions since 2006. One of these occasions was during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in January 2009, together with the cases of other human rights defenders. The Chinese responded with details of the charges brought against him and of his unsuccessful appeal.We are proposing that this case should next be raised at the EU/China Human Rights Dialogue on 29/30 June 2010 where Chen Guangcheng should be included on the individual case list. We will continue to monitor this case and raise it when appropriate.

Secondary information