Trevor Sargent
Ceist:58 Mr. Sargent asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he raised the issue of China's occupation of Tibet with the Chinese Government on his recent visit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1329/94]
Written Answers. - China's Occupation of Tibet.
During my meeting with Vice Premier and Foreign Minister Qian Qichen, I devoted a considerable amount of time to human rights issues, including the question of Tibet. I pointed out that Ireland and China and many other countries were able to agree last year at the UN Conference in Vienna on an important Declaration on Human Rights. In that document we all accepted that, however different the political, economic and social systems of states, we all have a duty to uphold and protect the fundamental human rights which were set out in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. I outlined to the Vice Premier and Foreign Minister the degree of public concern in Ireland and in the European Union on human rights issues. I raised with him the question of prisoners in Tibet and the case of the Chinese dissident Wei Jinsheng.