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Human Rights Annual Report 2005

I was not aware of the detail that the hon. Gentleman has drawn to my attention. It is incumbent on everyone, whether they are ethnic kinsmen who are next door or, as we are, people who are some distance way, to highlight the abuses that are happening and the denial of what should be the basic rights of the people in that region. In respect of the other autonomous region, Tibet, it is more widely known that freedom of expression, religion and association continue to be severely restricted. There are persistent reports of deaths in custody, torture and ill treatment. I endorse the comments in the conclusion of the Committee’s report. Not only are the abuses abhorrent, unacceptable and to be resisted, but, as the Committee concluded,"““the UK-China human rights dialogue appears to have made glacial progress. We recommend that the Government set out in its response to this Report what measures it uses to determine whether the dialogue is a success, what it sees as the achievements of the dialogue to date, and why it wishes it to continue.””" I can understand how the Government have to respond on this issue. I simply implore my right hon. Friend the Minister to adopt a robust attitude on these matters in the opportunities that will come his way, given his trade responsibilities. He is likely to be visiting China in the relatively near future. I urge him to raise these issues robustly whenever he does so. As I said, China is a mighty economic and military power, and is becoming increasingly so. It is incumbent on all of us to say not only that its human rights record is utterly unacceptable, but that we need faster progress. One can see some of the difficulties, such as in terms of reforming its judicial procedures—an issue on which the Government are giving some assistance to China. Nevertheless, all of us, including Ministers, must be prepared to speak out on these issues and to use our influence to the maximum to ensure that there is much more rapid progress. One other particular issue that must be pressed is the access of Amnesty International and other human rights organisations to the People’s Republic of China so that they can talk to people and report objectively on the situation and such progress, or lack of it, as is being made. It is scrutiny, advocacy and sending a clear signal that China’s economic progress must be matched by human rights reform that will help secure the changes that the Chinese people need if their rights as human beings are to be properly respected.