I have raised the question of human rights at every appropriate opportunity with the Chinese authorities, most recently when I participated at the EU troika meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister, Qian Qichen, on 14 February. During this meeting, a full account of which has been given in reply to Question No. 44 of 11 March, the EU expressed its regret that China had not agreed to a new date for an EU-China meeting within the framework of the human rights dialogue initiated in 1995 and highlighted European interest in resuming such a dialogue. The EU also repeated its call that China become party to the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as that on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
We also sought the release of political prisoners in need of medical treatment and the agreement of China to facilitate prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Since the meeting, there have been indications that the Chinese authorities are considering, in particular, the issue of prison visits and the question of adherence to the two UN covenants which I mentioned.