Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from Rt Hon Ian McCartney MP, Minister of State for Trade, Investment
and Foreign Affairs
At the Westminster Hall debate on the Foreign
Affairs Committee Report on East Asia on 1 February, I promised
to update you on the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, and the wider
human rights discussions I have been having in the region.
The 15th round of the UK-China Human Rights
Dialogue took place in London on Monday 5 February. At the end
of the Dialogue I met the head of the Chinese delegation, Dr Shen
Yongxiang, Special Representative on Human Rights, Chinese Ministry
of Foreign Affairs.
I stressed the public and parliamentary interest
in China's progress and engagement on human rights. I left Dr
Shen in no doubt of the value that we attach to the Dialogue.
As I said during the Westminster Hall debate, I believe human
rights requires a long-term dialogue, not only as a means of sharing
information but also as a channel for discussing often difficult
issues on a regular basis. I also made clear to Dr Shen that the
Dialogue is just one strand of a much wider engagement that includes
a growing portfolio of successful project work, ministerial and
official exchanges and work through EU and international mechanisms.
The Dialogue produced frank discussions on a
wide range of human rights issues. Overall, there were signs of
progress. The Supreme People's Court recovered its right to review
all death sentences on 1 January 2007. China implemented new guidelines
for foreign correspondents which temporarily lift restrictions
on travel and the requirement to seek official permission for
interviews up to and during the Olympics. And we received a constructive
response on 35 of the 45 individual cases of concern we raised.
But despite continued international pressure,
progress in other areas, notably ratification of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), remains slow.
The main themes were civil society and the role
of defence lawyers in the criminal justice system. The Chinese
authorities recognised the contribution that civil society has
made to the market economy and social support services in China.
They stated candidly that many existing laws and regulations prevented
NGOs and INGOs from developing and were outdated. We made recommendations
for reform, emphasising the need for a simplified and transparent
regulatory framework, as in the UK. A senior representative of
the Royal National Institute for the Deaf—the first UK NGO
to play a leading role in the main talks—described how the
charity successfully lobbied to improve a public service.
In parallel to the main talks at the Dialogue,
legal experts took part in a workshop on the role of defence lawyers.
A detailed case study involving the detention, arrest and eventual
charging of a suspect helped to focus discussions on the areas
of Chinese practice which remain incompatible with the ICCPR.
During the two-day fieldtrip to Belfast that followed, the case
study culminated in a mock trial hosted by the Lord Chief Justice,
and a visit to the custody suite of a police station. It is in
areas like this, where China has already shown a willingness to
implement reforms (China is in the lengthy and complex process
of reforming its Criminal Procedure Law) that I believe we can
have the most impact in shaping China's thinking in positive directions,
particularly through projects.
We take a multi-layered approach to engaging
China on human rights. High-level messaging is important to encourage
progress at the top. But project work is the most effective way
to deliver more immediate results on the ground. We have used
the Global Opportunities Fund to support a number of projects
aimed at developing the rule of law. The Lord Chancellor's Training
Scheme for Young Chinese Lawyers (LCTS) gives Chinese lawyers
practical experience of litigation and court procedure. The UK
has significant expertise in safeguarding the rights of defendants
and their defence lawyers from which China can benefit. I know
that the Chinese participants found the workshop session particularly
valuable.
When the Foreign Secretary met Chinese Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing last September, she made the point that China's
early ratification of the ICCPR would go a long way to reassure
the international community that China is serious about improving
human rights. At the Dialogue, Dr Shen would not or could not
elaborate on a timetable for ratification, despite my repeated
requests. This was disappointing. With EU partners, we will continue
to make the case that it is in everyone's interests—Chinese
citizens and the international community—for China to ratify
the ICCPR with the minimum number of reservations and to implement
it in its true spirit.
In August 2006 I wrote to the Chinese Ambassador
to urge China to give fresh impetus to reforming the Re-education
through Labour (RTL) system. At the Dialogue, we gave a cautious
welcome to China's plans to reduce the scope of the RTL system
and the maximum sentence length, while pushing for details of
concrete steps and timing. We will continue to raise our concerns
about this and all other forms of administrative detention and
press for more urgent progress.
Torture remains a serious, widespread problem
in China, as the Special Rapporteur on Torture noted in the report
on his visit at the end of 2005. But there have been positive
signs since. Senior Chinese government figures have openly recognised
that forced confession is a serious problem. They have begun to
pass that message on to law enforcement officials. We will continue
to lobby the Chinese unambiguously to prohibit the use of evidence
obtained through torture, and to take other measures which will
act as a practical bar to torture, such as allowing defence lawyers
a larger role in the criminal judicial process.
At the Dialogue, we reminded China of its obligations
as host of the Olympics and events such as the Shanghai Expo to
ensure greater freedom of the media, information and expression.
We expressed concern about the continued restrictive regime on
access to information, including the blocking of websites and
jamming of radio frequencies.
During the Westminster Hall debate, you asked
for an update on the role of western companies, including Sky,
and the internet in China. We have made clear that it is for the
companies concerned to answer questions on their co-operation
with the Chinese Government. However, I understand that Google
and Yahoo! are now working with the Berkman Centre for Internet
and Society at Harvard Law School, Human Rights Watch and the
Centre for Democracy and Technology (CDT) in Washington on a code
of conduct to guide company behaviour when faced with `laws, regulations
and policies that interfere with the achievement of human rights'.
On issues like freedom of expression, we must
recognise that a significant shift in China's policy in the medium
term is unlikely. Nevertheless, we will continue to impress upon
China our belief that progress on these issues will ensure both
growth and stability, and an improvement in China's international
standing.
This is also true of issues that touch on national
unity, such as the protection of minority rights in Tibet. We
regularly urge the Chinese government to engage in serious negotiations
with the Dalai Lama's representatives, without pre-conditions,
to build a peaceful, sustainable and legitimate solution for Tibet.
At the Dialogue, we urged the Chinese government to carry out
a full investigation into the Nangpa Pass shooting at the end
of September 2006, including reports of ill treatment of detainees.
As I told Sir John Stanley at the Westminster Hall debate, I would
welcome a meeting to discuss these issues further. I have written
separately to Sir John inviting him to take this forward with
my office.
We also raised the "training camp"
incident that took place in Xinjiang on 5 January and the execution
of a Uighur Mullah which reportedly took place the same day. We
raised concerns about the treatment of Christians and other religious
practitioners in China. And we raised concerns about reports of
the mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners in detention.
We noted the parliamentary and media interest
in allegations of organ harvesting, including the revised report
by former Canadian Minister David Kilgour, published on 1 February
2007. We welcomed draft legislation to further tighten controls
over organ transplants. We urged China to ensure that it meets
the World Health Organisation (WHO) requirement for free and informed
consent and covers transplants taking place outside ordinary hospitals.
We also raised China's treatment of refugees
and other migrants from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK). Last July, I discussed the human rights situation in DPRK
with Ministers in Japan, South Korea and China. In Japan, I met
the families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean agents
in the 1970s and 1980s. I support Japanese efforts to draw international
attention to this issue.
North Korea represents a direct challenge to
international human rights standards. We take every opportunity
to express our concern about the wide-ranging human rights abuses
there, and are working to improve the overall flow of information
on human rights issues into and out of the country. Following
their nuclear test in October, I summoned the DPRK Ambassador
and took the opportunity to convey a forceful message on human
rights. In November, I invited the UN Special Rapporteur on Human
Rights in the DPRK to the UK for talks with parliamentarians,
NGOs, academics and other interested parties. In January, I chaired
a workshop session on DPRK human rights, which academics, NGOs
and senior officials from across Whitehall attended. At the meeting,
I made a commitment to enter into an ongoing dialogue with NGOs
on how best to engage North Korea on human rights.
I will shortly be writing again to Vice-Foreign
Minister Zhang Yesui to develop further our ideas for taking forward
the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue. These include broadening participation
by Government Departments on both sides, and revisiting key themes
over a number of rounds for better continuity and more focused
discussions. In a similar way we are discussing with EU partners
ways to strengthen the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue. We have
been able to put forward a number of the recommendations set out
by the FAC in its Report on East Asia. The EU working group on
human rights discussed the issue on 28 February. I will write
to the Committee with more details shortly.
I also intend to make available to NGOs, Parliament
and other interested groups details of our internal strategy paper
setting out how we intend to deliver our priorities on human rights,
democracy and good governance in China. I believe it is important
to clarify the various strands of our activity and how we prioritise
to ensure that we continue to address human rights issues in the
most effective way.
Finally, I would like to remind you that I hope
to visit East Asia again later this year. I would be happy to
meet you, and other interested Members, nearer the time to discuss
the programme of work and objectives for the visit, and to report
back to you on my return.
Engaging with China on human rights can be hard
going. It requires sustained commitment. But over a long time-scale,
I believe that you can see things are moving in the right direction.
Since mid-2005, the Chinese have taken real steps towards a substantive
reduction in the death penalty. They have strengthened measures
to reduce torture by the police. They have moved towards re-drafting
the criminal procedure law to promote fairer trials by improving
the rights of defendants. They have renewed reform (albeit not
yet abolition) of RTL. And they have substantially liberalised
the rules for foreign correspondents. China is making progress,
albeit slowly and ponderously. Encouragement and practical co-operation
in these areas can help China towards the rule of law and greater
freedom of expression.
I am grateful to Sir John Stanley for acknowledging
during the debate my long-standing personal commitment to human
rights. I can assure you that I will continue to make human rights
an integral part of my duties as a Minister. I am copying this
letter to all Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and those
Members who attended the Westminster Hall debate on 1 February.
Rt Hon Ian McCartney MP
Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign
Affairs
10 March 2007
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