Vol. 468 No. 2
51 Mr. Callely asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the alleged claim that thousands of orphans die from starvation and neglect each year in China; if so, his views in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14769/96]
The Government have conveyed to the Chinese authorities on a number of occasions the deep concern of the Irish Government about the care of Chinese orphans. Following allegations about abuses of the human rights of disabled and orphan children, made in the Channel 4 programme "The Dying Rooms" in June 1995, the matter was raised with the Chinese Ambassador by a senior official at my Department.
On 22 January 1996, after the airing of another television programme, "Return to the Dying Rooms", I wrote to the Chinese Ambassador asking her to convey to her authorities the sense of outrage which the programme and report had evoked amongst the Irish people. The Government also raised the matter with the then European Union Presidency and the EU Commission, and the attention of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe was also drawn to the issue. Contact was also made with the Executive Director of UNICEF and his organisation subsequently reached agreement with the Chinese Government to start a programme aimed at improving the care of institutionalised orphans and disabled children. This programme came into effect on 23 April 1996. Moreover, Irish Aid is planning to provide assistance through both international bodies and NGOs.
The EU Troika at senior official level, on which Ireland was represented, visited Beijing from 22-24 January 1996 for a human rights dialogue meeting with the Chinese authorities. They raised the Channel 4 programme with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is the Ministry responsible for orphanages.
