91997E3959

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3959/97 by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission (12 December 1997)

Subject: Chinese population policy

Is the Commission aware of the reports of large-scale enforced sterilizations in Tibet which apparently took place between September and October 1996 (according to TSG Nieuwsbrief NL)?

Is the Commission aware that the Chinese authorities operate a compulsory lottery system to determine whether a married couple can still have children?

Does the Commission share the view that the Chinese population policy is designed to reduce the number of Tibetans?

Is the Commission prepared to protest to the Chinese authorities about this turn of events?

Is the Commission prepared to raise this question in the UN Commission for Human Rights?

Can the Commission indicate what steps it has already taken against China with regard to the population policy?

Answer given by Sir Leon Brittan on behalf of the Commission (2 February 1998)

Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in China is still a matter of constant concern to the Commission. It has never failed, where it believes there is justification, to express its concern about the human rights situation in Tibet in particular.

The Commission has no precise information on the facts reported by the Honourable Member. Should they be confirmed, the Commission - as in the past - would undoubtedly raise any infringement of human rights or assault on human dignity as part of the bilateral dialogue with China.