To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the government of China on the persecution of Christians and other faith groups.
Answered on
7 July 2016
We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China and remain concerned by all reports of restrictions to freedom of religion or belief and persecution of faith groups. The full range of our human rights concerns in China are set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy, most recently published on 21 April. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has continued to raise concerns about the detention of human rights lawyers, a number of whom have represented clients who have been punished for exercising their freedom of religious belief. He did so with both Foreign Minister Wang Yi in January and President Zhou Qiang of the Supreme People’s Court last month.