The Coalition Government and Human Rights |
Standing Firm on Human Rights
The Coalition Manifesto states that the UK will “seek a closer engagement with China, while standing firm on human rights...” (“The Coalition: Our Programme for Government,” p. 20).
Foreign Policy Vision
In his 1 July speech entitled “Britain’s Foreign Policy in a Networked World,” Foreign Secretary William Hague said that human rights should be at the “irreducible core” of UK foreign policy.
He also said: ‘We will raise our concerns about human rights wherever and whenever those concerns arise, including with countries with whom we are seeking closer ties."
Public statements
William Hague in China
During a news conference in Beijing in July 2010 with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, William Hague said that the UK has "long-standing human rights concerns" about Tibet. He also said that he wanted to see human rights improvements and greater autonomy for Tibet. A public statement of concern while in China marks a shift from previous governments’ softly softly approach.
David Cameron in China
Cameron failed to speak up publicly for Tibet and human rights to the Chinese government and public during his two day trip to Beijing on 9 &10 November. David Cameron talked about the need for political reform in China in his speech to students at Peking University on 10 November, but stopped short of raising human rights concerns in China. Instead he used the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue as the excuse for his silence. In fact the Dialogue has failed to deliver results and has become a cosmetic, tick-boxing exercise aimed at deflecting criticism.
UK-China Human Righs Dialogue
By the Foreign Office’s own admission the dialogue has not yielded any real progress on human rights in Tibet since its inception in 1997. UK government lacks the means of assessing whether any progress has actually been made in its dialogue process with China because unlike other UK bi- or multi-lateral human rights processes, the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue does not have any measurable benchmarks or timeframes to monitor progress.
The failure of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue during 2008 and 09 is further evidenced by the fact that, at the request of the Chinese government, dialogue has taken place only once in over 18 months despite being scheduled to take place twice a year. It was also cancelled in 2009 following the British government's denounciation of China's execution of British citizen Akmal Shaikh.
There is only one human rights officer in the Beijing Embassy for the WHOLE of China and Tibet.
In recent years there has been a marked decrease in the information the British government has been able to secure despite its strengthened, “constructive” engagement with China.
What the British public thinks
An ICM poll* commissioned by Free Tibet published on 5 November reveals that three out of four Britons believe that protecting human rights in Tibet is at least as important as good trade relations with China. Only 13 per cent of the population think that maintaining good trade relations with China is more important than protecting human rights.
The poll also reveals that more than half of British adults (58 per cent) believe that Tibet should be independent. The British public rejects China’s occupation of Tibet, with only 3% believing Tibet should continue to be ruled by China.
The poll shows that:
• 1 in 3 British adults believe that protecting human rights in Tibet is more important than good trade relations with China;
• 3 out of 4 think that protecting human rights in Tibet is at least as important as maintaining good trade relations with China;
• More than half of British adults believe Tibet should be independent;
• More than three quarters believe Tibet should be either independent from China or autonomous.
*ICM Research interviewed a random sample of 1,000 adults aged 18+ by telephone from 29 October – 1 November 2010. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. The poll was commissioned by Free Tibet.
 Free Tibet ran aGeneral Election campaign urging candidates pledge to support human rights. See what you can do to help MPs keep to their committment. |  These MPs have supported human rights in Tibet and China. Find out how you can help them do more to champion the Tibetan cause. |
 Find out which MPs are championing human rights in Tibet and China. |  Read Free Tibet's recommendations for the new government on how the UK can help to improve the state of human rights in Tibet and China. |
