In a new resolution on China and Tibet adopted on the 10 July, European Parliament remains concerned about human rights abuses in China and Tibet. Contrary to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, announced that he will not be attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, due to the lack of progress in talks between Chinese authorities and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
For the second time since the uprising of the Tibetan plateau on the 10 March, the European Parliament has adopted a resolution that ‘deplores the fact that China’s human rights record remains a matter for concern owing to widespread and systematic human rights abuses.’
The resolution, adopted by (439-51-139) ‘calls on the Chinese authorities to bear in mind that earthquake warnings constitute one benchmark of the development of a country,’ stressing that future scientific warnings should be heeded if they forecast another natural disaster in China. Parliament stresses the importance of the EU and the international community for reconstruction efforts after the quake, and ‘notes with satisfaction that China rapidly agreed to accept the assistance of the international community in helping the victims of the earthquake.’
Tibet and human rights
The House ‘welcomes the resumption of contacts, after the events of March 2008 in Lhasa, between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese authorities,’ and calls for an intensification of these contacts. Nevertheless, MEPs also deplore the fact that ‘participants in the protest in Lhasa [are] still being traced, detained and arbitrarily arrested,’ and calls on China to ‘halt its ‘patriotic re-education’ campaign.’
Parliament urges the Chinese authorities to display clemency to all political prisoners and human rights activists who are currently in jail, and to stop practices of discrimination and harassment. It ‘condemns China’s frequent use of the death penalty and calls on the Chinese authorities to establish a moratorium on executions.’
Beijing Olympics
The resolution ‘calls on China to abide by the public commitments which it made with regard to human rights and minority rights, democracy and the rule of law and which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced when it decided to allow China to host the Olympic Games.’
The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert P?ttering, announced that he will not be attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing, due to the lack of progress in talks between Chinese authorities and representatives of the Dalai Lama.
At the same time, during Wednesday afternoon’s debate, the French State Secretary for European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet announced that after consultations with his colleagues in the European Council, French President Nicolas Sarkozy will be attending the event, representing both France and the EU as the holder of the current EU presidency. This decision was taken despite the lack of progress and concrete results of the 7th round of dialogue between the Envoys of the Dalai Lama and Representatives of the Chinese Government that took place on the 1-2 July in Beijing.
RESOLUTION (10 July):
European Parliament resolution of 10 July 2008 on the situation in China after the earthquake and before the Olympic Games
The European Parliament,
- having regard to its resolution of 22 May 2008 on the natural disaster in China,
- having regard to its resolution of 10 April 2008 on Tibet,
- having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2007 on the EU-China Summit and the EU‑China human rights dialogue,
- having regard to the outcome of the 25th round of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in Brdo, Slovenia, on 15 May 2008,
- having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas both China and the EU are committed to contributing to peace, security and sustainable development in the world,
B. having regard to the scale of the destruction wrought by the violent earthquake in South-west China on 12 May 2008; whereas that earthquake claimed tens of thousands of victims, in particular in Sichuan province; whereas, according to the latest estimate, 10 million people were affected by the earthquake and almost 70 000 killed, including thousands of schoolchildren who died when their classrooms collapsed,
C. whereas the Chinese Government took exceptional emergency measures, deploying personnel — including part of the army — and medical teams to aid the inhabitants of the stricken region,
D. having regard to the extraordinary mobilisation and solidarity of the entire Chinese people and of the international community in efforts to aid the victims of the disaster,
E. whereas the opening of Tibet to tourists and the media should not be used as a — public relations event — but as a real opening, which will allow journalists, the media and tourists to visit the region of Tibet,
F. having regard to the concluding statements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which underlined that granting the 2008 Olympic Games to China would help to open up the country and improve the human rights situation,
1. Expresses satisfaction at the developments in EU-China relations, the sectoral dialogues and the closer cooperation on various globalised issues;
2. Calls on the Chinese authorities to bear in mind that earthquake warnings constitute one benchmark of the development of a country; stresses, therefore, the vital importance of responding actively and promptly to any warning that the scientific community can give the authorities in the unlikely but possible situation of another natural disaster in China;
3. Welcomes the resumption of contacts, after the events of March 2008 in Lhasa, between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese authorities; encourages the two parties to intensify these contacts so as to establish the bases for mutual trust, without which it will be impossible to arrive at a mutually acceptable political solution;
4. Regrets that while there has been major progress in relations with China as regards trade and economics, that progress has not been accompanied by substantial achievements as regards issues relating to human rights and democracy;
5. Deplores the fact that China’s human rights record remains a matter of concern owing to widespread and systematic human rights abuses; recalls the commitments to human rights made by China when the country won its bid to host the Olympic Games;
6. Condemns China’s frequent use of the death penalty and calls on the Chinese authorities to establish a moratorium on executions;
7. Deplores the fact that no international calls have succeed in stopping the Chinese authorities from pursuing their follow-up to the riots of 14 March 2008 in Tibet, with participants in the protest in Lhasa still being traced, detained and arbitrarily arrested, and their families being given no information as to their whereabouts, although this is required by Chinese law; calls on the Chinese authorities to halt its “patriotic re-education” campaign, which has been intensified since the beginning of April, during the Olympic Games in the name of the long‑established ‘Olympic Truce”;
8. Notes with satisfaction that China rapidly agreed to accept the assistance of the international community in helping the victims of the earthquake in the Sichuan region and facilitating the operation of voluntary humanitarian aid organisations in distributing aid;
9. Stresses the importance of the support of the European Union, of its Member States and of the international community for the reconstruction phase in the affected region;
10. Calls on China to abide by the public commitments which it made with regard to human rights and minority rights, democracy and the rule of law and which the IOC announced when it decided to allow China to organise the Olympic Games;
11. Urges the Chinese authorities to take this historic opportunity to demonstrate to the world that the granting of the Olympic Games to Beijing has provided a unique chance to improve their human rights record by displaying clemency to all political prisoners and human rights activists in gaol, including those in gaol in Tibet following the uprising of March 2008 (except, of course, for perpetrators of violent crimes); calls, moreover, on the Chinese authorities to stop discrimination against rural migrants and ethnic minorities and to refrain from harassing trade-union activists, lawyers and journalists when they denounce violations of fundamental freedoms; reiterates its conviction that the imprisonment of such people is against the universal and accepted spirit of the ius gentium (law of nations);
12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee.
RESOLUTION (10 April)
European Parliament resolution of 10 April 2008 on Tibet
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its earlier resolutions on China and on Tibet, in particular on:
a- the dialogue between the Chinese Government and Envoys of the Dalai Lama (15 February 2007),
b- the EU-China Summit and the EU/China human rights dialogue (13 December 2007)
c- EU-China relations (7 September 2006)
d- the functioning of the human rights dialogues and consultations on human rights with third countries (6 September 2007) — having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan national uprising against the Chinese administration led to major demonstrations by Tibetan monks and nuns and ordinary Tibetan citizens protesting against Chinese repression,
B. whereas, according to the Chinese authorities, 20 people died in the protests; whereas, according to other sources, more than 140 Tibetans died in those clashes, and dozens of others have been arrested,
C. whereas a state of emergency has been declared by the Chinese Government, and shops and temples have been closed in Lhasa, as well as in other cities, with hundreds of armed police officers and army troops moved to Tibet from the rest of China,
D. whereas His Holiness the Dalai Lama has called this Chinese over-reaction ‘cultural genocide’, and has at the same time urged Tibetans ‘to practise non-violence and not waver from this path, however serious the situation might be’ (5) whereas His Holiness the Dalai Lama has not demanded Tibetan independence but has instead proposed a middle way of genuine cultural and political autonomy and religious freedom, thereby expressing a view that is supported by the European Parliament,
E. whereas only peaceful means and sincere dialogue can lead to a lasting settlement,
F. whereas, save for an official international press trip organised by the Chinese Government, the international press has been denied access to the region of Tibet to report on the events, and all journalists have been expelled; whereas the aforementioned international press trip was heavily controlled and the participating journalists were denied unrestricted access to the Tibetan people,
G. whereas the Chinese Government appears to be blocking foreign websites inside China and censoring foreign television broadcasts about the situation in Tibet,
H. convinced that the Beijing Olympic Games represent an extraordinary opportunity for China to open itself up to the world and vice versa, and to demonstrate that it can honour its undertakings as regards the promotion of fundamental rights for all Chinese people, without distinction,
I. whereas the EU-China human rights dialogue established in 2000 has failed to achieve the expected results
1. Firmly condemns the brutal repression visited by the Chinese security forces on Tibetan demonstrators and all acts of violence from whichever source that have taken place in the streets of Lhasa and elsewhere in Tibet, and expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the victims;
2. Calls on the Chinese Government to guarantee adequate medical care for injured Tibetans and legal assistance for arrested Tibetans; appeals to the authorities to present an account of their detainees, to treat them in accordance with international human rights law and, under all circumstances, to refrain from torture; calls for the immediate release of all those who protested peacefully exercising their legitimate right to freedom of expression;
3. Criticises the often discriminatory treatment of non-Han Chinese ethnic minorities; calls on China to honour its commitments to human and minority rights and the rule of law; urges China not to misuse the 2008 Olympic Games by arresting dissidents, journalists and human rights activists in order to prevent demonstrations and reports which the authorities view as embarrassing to them; calls, in this regard, for the immediate release of Hu Jia, a prominent human rights activist, sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison on subversion charges;
4. Calls for an open and independent inquiry, under the auspices of the United Nations, into the recent riots and repression in Tibet; urges the Chinese authorities to issue a standing invitation to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN bodies to visit Tibet;
5. Welcomes the fact that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has called on the Tibetan people to protest non-violently and has rejected calls for Tibetan independence and instead proposed the middle way of genuine cultural and political autonomy and religious freedom; reaffirms its attachment to China’s territorial integrity;
6. Calls on the Chinese authorities to open up Tibet to the media and diplomats, in particular EU representatives; urges the Chinese authorities to immediately stop censoring and blocking news and information websites based abroad; calls for the release of all journalists, internet users and cyber-dissidents detained in China for exercising their right to information;
7. Is concerned about the increasing economic marginalisation of the Tibetan people in Tibet, who are faced with a rising number of Chinese migrant workers coming into Tibet and taking Tibetan jobs and Tibetan land; points to the gross discrimination in the education system, in which Tibetan children learn their native language as a second language;
8. Calls on China to respect its own public commitments to human rights and minority rights, democracy and the rule of law announced during the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision to allow China to organise the Games;
9. Urges China to ratify without any further delay and in any case before the Olympic Games the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (UN, 1966); calls on Beijing to establish a moratorium on the death penalty, as called for by UN General Assembly resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007 on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty;
10. Regrets that the six sessions of talks between the Chinese authorities and His Holiness the Dalai Lama have failed to achieve results, and calls for a constructive dialogue to be opened without preconditions, with a view to reaching a comprehensive political agreement, including a sustainable solution with regard to the cultural and political autonomy of Tibet and religious freedom and true minority rights for the Tibetan people in other neighbouring Chinese provinces;
11. Calls on the Council, and in particular the Presidency, closely to monitor developments, and to ensure that the EU adopts a consistent common position and that decisions taken on the basis thereof are duly implemented, and considers that EU diplomatic representatives in Beijing should take the initiative of visiting the region in order to report back to the Council about the current situation;
12. Reiterates, in this regard, its call on the Council to appoint a special envoy for Tibetan issues in order to facilitate the dialogue between the parties and closely follow the negotiations once they are resumed;
13. Endorses the statement by His Holiness the Dalai Lama that the Olympic Games are a great opportunity for freedom for all the Chinese people;
14. Calls on the EU Presidency-in-Office to strive to find a common EU position with regard to the attendance of the Heads of Government and of State and the EU High Representative at the Olympic Games opening ceremony, with the option of non-attendance in the event that there is no resumption of dialogue between the Chinese authorities and His Holiness the Dalai Lama;
15. Urges the People’s Republic of China to stop scrutinising and judging Olympic athletes on the basis of their political views and threatening to ban them from the Olympic Games if they dissent from the Chinese Government’s official position;
16. Looks forward to His Holiness the Dalai Lama ‘s visit to the European Parliament to address the plenary session scheduled for late 2008, and calls on its Conference of Presidents to explore the possibility of an earlier visit;
17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of the applicant countries, the President and Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, the President of the Chinese People’s National Congress, the International Olympic Committee and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
