Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-15-Speech-4-198"
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"en.20051215.36.4-198"2
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".
Mr President, the Commission shares the concerns of the European Parliament regarding the human rights situation in China, in particular the detention of monks and closure of monasteries in Tibet, as well as constitutional developments in Hong Kong. These issues are very high on the agenda of our dialogue with China.
The Commission also welcomes and supports the General Affairs and External Relations Council's conclusions of 12 December, which voice strong concern over China’s human rights policy – in particular, with respect to the rights of minorities.
On 12 December, the General Affairs and External Relations Council also approved the Commission’s negotiating mandate for a new partnership and cooperation agreement with China. The mandate also stipulates that a partnership agreement with China will contain a standard clause on human rights. I wish to stress that, for many years, we have not concluded agreements with other parties without such a human rights clause.
As regards Hong Kong, the European Union supports democracy throughout the world as the best means of creating legitimate, stable, accountable and transparent government, of protecting rights and freedom, and of upholding the rule of law. It supports early and substantial progress towards the ultimate goal of universal suffrage in Hong Kong, as set out in the basic law, in line with the wishes of the people of Hong Kong. It is important that we maintain pressure on China to work towards universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
As regards the situation in Tibet, the European Union has put Tibet very high on its agenda with China. It has, in particular, mainly focused its attention on the preservation of the cultural, religious and linguistic identity of the Tibetan people. The present situation in the region, which we follow very closely, raises grave concern, especially with respect to the exercise of religious freedom. We are worried to see that the local authorities have imposed a strict framework setting limits on the exercise of this freedom, and we deplore the recent cases of detention of monks and, in particular, the blockade of the monastery of Drepung in Lhasa.
We hope that a solution compatible with both Chinese sovereignty and respect for the Tibetan population will be found soon. In our view, to reach this ultimate goal, there is no alternative but a peaceful process based on dialogue. We have called for years, and will continue to call, for the establishment of such a dialogue. We, therefore, fully support the process which has been taking place over the past years between Beijing and the representatives of the Dalai Lama.
We firmly believe that only such a direct dialogue can be conducive to a lasting solution of the Tibetan issue. In our view, the opening of a direct dialogue should not be made subject to any precondition. On the other hand, the respective parties should refrain from taking any step that would compromise the establishment of the climate of confidence that appears indispensable, if a solution is to be reached."@en1
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