The human rights situation in Tibet is very troubling and I share constituents’ concerns over a number of serious issues including restrictions on religion and belief. I am aware of reports of Tibetans being banned from worshipping the Dalai Lama, being arrested for owning photographs of him, celebrating his birthday or watching videos of his teaching.
Likewise, the candidate identified by the Dalai Lama back in 1995 as the next Panchen Lama - a senior figure in Tibetan Buddhism - was forcibly disappeared by the Chinese authorities. My colleagues and I view the Dalai Lama as a respected spiritual leader and, as such, we believe that the appointment of the next Dalai Lama is a matter for the relevant religious authorities to decide.
I am also aware UN special rapporteurs found that around a million Tibetan children have been separated from their families and placed into Chinese Government-run boarding schools with no access to traditional Tibetan learning. Rural schools have been closed and students have been forced to attend schools far from their family homes.
My colleagues and I will continue to push for human rights rapporteurs to access Tibet, including for the UN special rapporteurs, a request for which China either has not responded to or, indeed, has refused. We remain consistent in our calls for the necessity of greater access to Tibet for international observers in order to monitor Chinese state involvement, including the placement of children into Government-run boarding schools.
Under the new Government, I want to see Ministers and officials continue to urge the Chinese authorities to respect all fundamental rights in Tibet, in line with both its own constitution and the international frameworks to which it is a party.
I sincerely hope the new Labour Government broaches these concerns at all diplomatic levels. Of course, these bilateral representations must be complemented by UK action at multilateral fora, as the previous UK Government did at the G7 and the UN Human Rights Committee.
Please be assured that I will not hesitate to hold Ministers to account in Parliament should I feel that the UK is not playing its part in standing up against human rights violations across China and, indeed, worldwide.
