Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-09-23-Speech-4-048"
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"en.20100923.3.4-048"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, I would like to preface my remarks by saying that the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament is very interested in constructive relations with the People’s Republic of China. Your response today disappointed me a little, however, because it contained nothing concrete. In fact, all you have done is to draw attention to the current situation, trying to hide behind the fact that this is a difficult matter. This is not an acceptable excuse, when other countries, such as the US as we have just heard, have already managed to find very clear solutions.
A positive trade balance with China – which is something I would welcome for us all – cannot excuse us for turning a blind eye to serious violations of human rights. I am sure that China and its representatives are working hard to deal with the very difficult situation in China – a boom and growth in the economy on the coast and in the major cities and increasing poverty in the rural areas – leading to an absolute imbalance in the country’s social structures. However, this cannot excuse us from making every effort to prevent the import of these goods to Europe, whether intentionally or unintentionally. We have a wide range of measures open to us; we can make sure that businesses in Europe are made aware of the problematic products. The names of these cover companies who deal in goods from laogai camps are known. We also know who the suppliers are. It is not much use for us in Europe to have most of our companies providing an excellent example by making an undertaking that human rights are respected, if we do nothing to help them keep to this undertaking.
I also see myself as a representative of the consumer, who wants to be sure when buying products of Chinese origin that these products are not the result of enforced labour. We already have a heightened awareness in relation to products that result from child labour. A lot has been done in this regard. I expect the Commission to come up with some specific proposals, such as quality marks. I want to see a ban on products that can be proven to come from these sources and I also want to see continued constructive and effective dialogue with China. I believe that there is a willingness on the part of the Chinese government to continue with this dialogue. China is also interested in improving its human rights record. Let us try to achieve this through dialogue, but we should not turn a blind eye to human rights violations simply because trade relationships are so important."@en1
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