New Comments on the FCO website

There is a new comment on the post "Country updates: China".

http://www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk/human-rights-in-countries-of-concern/china/quarterly-updates-china/

Author: FCO Digital
Comment:
We remain very concerned about the human rights situation in Tibet, in particular with respect to the protection of cultural rights and religious freedoms. We raise these issues regularly with the Chinese authorities, as we did during the Universal Periodic Review of China’s human rights record at the UN on 22 October 2013.

Our position on Tibet remains unchanged since the previous Government. We recognise Tibet as part of China and do not support Tibetan independence. We believe long term stability in Tibet will be best achieved through respect for the universal human rights of Tibetans and genuine autonomy for Tibet within the framework of the Chinese constitution. Meaningful dialogue is the best way to address and resolve the underlying grievances of the Tibetan communities and we continue to urge all sides to restart talks.

We aim to strike a balance between taking a clear position on Tibet, and sustaining broad-based engagement with the Chinese government. A strong and mature relationship is one where no concern is off limits, but we talk about our differences with honesty and mutual respect, sometimes in public, sometimes in private. It is only through engaging China that we can help bring about positive change to human rights, including for Tibetan communities.

In Response
Author: paul barasi
Comment:
RESPONSE ON TIBET

“We remain very concerned about the human rights situation in Tibet”
What concern then has FCO shown for Driru where human rights for Tibetans under Chinese misrule have fallen to absolute zero? Why does Driru receive zero priority in FCO?
How many FCO tweets have there been on Syria in 2014 and how many on Tibet?
FCO policy is to learn the lessons of the holocaust yet FCO’s reply shows that the department denies the 1.2m Tibetan genocide by China and continuing atrocities.

“Universal Periodic Review of China’s human rights record at the UN”
Why does FCO cite this process when it was a farcical sham in which almost every nation praised China’s human rights?

“Our position on Tibet remains unchanged since the previous Government … We recognise Tibet as part of China and do not support Tibetan independence”
FCO continues to ignore that this policy was explicitly predicated on human rights improving and refuses to say why the Department will not undertake a policy review. We The British People are denied a democratic choice over British foreign policy on Tibet by the main parties, which all collude with China against Tibetans having the same right of self-determination that FCO recognises for the other peoples of the world. FCO can supply no information justifying why this policy is consistent, just or effective because it is none of those things.

“Sustaining broad-based engagement with the Chinese government”
FCO has been unable to produce an impact assessment of its Tibet policy or on its engagement with China about Tibet, list any achievements, provide any evidence of positive outcomes or demonstrate any productive change. This is because the policy and engagement are fruitless failures, a smokescreen for silent complicity in violations perpetrated daily by our Government's favourite trade partners, undermining British integrity, credibility and commitment to human rights.




Author: FCO Digital
Comment:

We are very concerned about restrictions on the right to freedom of religion and belief, and about reports of torture and mistreatment of detainees in China, including Falun Gong practitioners. We raise these issues regularly with the Chinese authorities, as we did during the Universal Periodic Review of China’s human rights record at the UN on 22 October 2013. During his recent visit to China, as well as raising concerns over human rights, the Prime Minister agreed with Premier Li that the next round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue would take place in early 2014.

The Chinese government has repeatedly denied that state authorities carry out forced organ removal. We are aware that organs removed from executed prisoners are used for human transplantation purposes in China. In March 2012, the Chinese government announced it would phase out the use of organs from executed prisoners for transplant within the next five years and would create a national organ donation system. We will continue to encourage China to make further progress in this respect, including by technical cooperation where appropriate.

On the international stage, the UK strongly supports the Declaration of Istanbul, which encourages all countries to draw up proper frameworks to govern organ donation and transplantation activities. We have helped to develop the World Health Organisation Guiding Principles, to ensure that human material removed from deceased and living donors for the purpose of transplantation only takes place according to agreed principles. We are also working with international partners to agree a new draft Convention against Trafficking.

In the UK, we make constant efforts to ensure that any British citizen who needs replacement organs can do so in the UK. Indeed, the Department of Health advise that there has been a 50% improvement in donor rates in the UK since 2007/08, with donor numbers increasing consistently. However, it is not possible to prevent UK citizens travelling to less well-regulated countries to seek an organ transplant, although UK physicians always advise patients against doing so. Although numbers are not known, it is thought very few patients in the UK choose to do so.

Response
Author: Paul Barasi
Comment:CHINA - ORGAN HAVESTING

"The use of organs from executed prisoners" - this is a deliberate lie, for FCO has the evidence. Organs are taken from live prisoners. This is state murder. It has only been raised s couple of times in the UK Parliament when Ministers gave China's official line. That FCO is willing to act as a mouth piece for a foreign regime that commits this crime is unacceptable.

Our position must be:

(1) Refusal to accept China's organ harvesting is the opportunistic removal of organs from dead executed prisoners, and public condemnation of the state murder by organ removal of live prisoners, most of whom have been targeted for religious and political reasons and some not even ever having been sentenced by any law court.

(2) China must be told to stop organ harvesting immediately, rather than phasing it out or lapsing into denial that it has and is still happening.

(3) FCO, with the Department of Heath, must check and then reassure the British People that organs forcibly removed in China have not been used in Britain and it must be made illegal to do so in Britain or for a British citizen to receive one abroad – a step other countries have taken.

(4) The Chinese government must be reminded of the requirements of the rule of law and be asked to ensure that those who have perpetrated organ harvesting and also those who have profited from the sale of forcibly harvested organs are brought to justice.

(5) UK representatives in international forums (such as UN Human Rights Council, EU) must be vociferous in representing this position whenever China's organ harvesting is being or can be raised and discussed.


See all comments on this post here:

http://www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk/human-rights-in-countries-of-concern/china/quarterly-updates-china/#comments

Cafe Momo March 2014

CAFÉ MOMO

Music, Refreshments, stalls,

At CHURCH HOUSE, CHURCH STREET, CORSHAM

On SUNDAY 23rd March starting at 12:00pm to 4:00pm

A talk will be given by Tenzin on Tibet Relief projects.  
Details to Follow.  Talk starts a 2pm.

Lunch - 12pm to 2pm and 

Afternoon tea 3pm to 4pm

Soup and Roll . Home-made produce.

Refreshments inc. Jing teas and Hot chocolate

Café Momo is a regular Winter Café. 

Cafes are run by Bath District Tibet Support Group

Tibet - destruction of a civilization

Here's a few great animations from the following web site
 http://www.tibet-hamburg.de/proj_karikaturen.html

feel free to comment

Tibetan monk dies of self immolation in Sangchu - Update

Phayul[Thursday, December 19, 2013 15:02] Tsuiltrim Gyatso lie on the ground after his self immolation/Dec.  19, 2013/photo provided by source Undated photo of Tsuiltrim Gyatso who died after setting himself ablaze in Amchok town, Sangchu County, Dec. 19, 2013 DHARAMSHALA, December 19 - A Tibetan monk of Amchok monastery died after he set himself on fire today in Amchok town, Sangchu County (around 2.30 PM local time).  Tsuiltrim Gyatso, aged 43, is confirmed dead, and his body is at Amchok monastery where around 400 monks are conducting prayers as part of the post death rituals for the deceased, a Tibetan source told phayul.  According to the Tibet Times, Tsuiltrim had left behind a handwritten note in Tibetan calling for unity amongst Tibetans, return of the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama and the release of the jailed Panchen Lama Gendun Choekyi Nyima.  Survived by his aged mother Lhamo Kyi his father Tamdin Tashi died several years back. Tsuiltrim becomes the 125th Tibetan to set himself on fire to protest the Chinese government since 2009. The handwritten note left behind by Tsuiltrim Gyatso

Senior Tibetan monk dies in custody: Tibetan right group

Phayul[Thursday, December 19, 2013 14:23]

Ngawang Jamyang/file DHARAMSALA, December 19 - One of the three Tibetan monk from Driru County arrested on Nov. 23 from Lhasa has been tortured to death in police custody and his body handed over to his family on December 17, a Tibetan right group said today.  According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Ngawang Jampel, 45; died in police custody less than a month after his arrest along with fellow monks Kalsang Choklang and another monk on 23 Nov. this year in Lhasa where the three had gone for annual vacation. The whereabouts and conditions of the other two monks remain unknown, the right group said.  “It was clear that Ngawang Jampel was beaten to death while in secret detention. He was a healthy, robust man when he left his monastery to visit Lhasa," the TCHRD quoted its source as saying. Kalsang Choklang/file Ngawang is the latest in the list of well-informed and educated Tibetans being targeted by Chinese authorities, the TCHRD believes. It also said that Ngawang has been on Chinese authorities' target since the nationwide protests in 2008 when Ngawang was arrested and jailed for two years for his alleged connection with the "exile separatist forces." Family members cremated Ngawang's body at a crematorium near Sera Monastery in Lhasa. Prayers and other post death rituals are being conducted at the deceased’s home in Driru County. The TCHRD further noted that the police have threatened the deceased’s family against speaking about Ngawang’s death to others, especially "exile separatist forces".  Armed Chinese police and security personnel arrived last month at Tarmoe monastery where only a few monks and the monastery's temple caretaker were present. The police asked where the rest of the monks had gone and demanded keys to the locked rooms of the monks who were on vacation. The monks told the police they did not have the keys. Armed police immediately surrounded the monastery, and broke into the rooms ransacking them, and took away several personal belongings including laptops, cellphones, CDs, and other items. The police seized two laptops from Ngawang's room, said the source. Ngawang Jampel born in 1968 in Totho Village in Driru County. In 1987, he became a monk at Tarmoe Monastery in his hometown. Two years later, he left for India to pursue further studies at Sera Je Monastery in south India. In 2007, he returned to his native town after 19 years of vigorous study of both Buddhism and modern sciences.  After completing his two year prison term in 2010, he worked for sometime as a teacher of Buddhist debate at Choeling Monastery. He also started debate classes for both monk and lay communities at Tarmoe monastery which now remains closed due to the crackdown since 23 November 2013. The TCHRD said he was well respected by the local community for his numerous social welfare activities such as helping to peacefully mediate disputes and helping local Tibetans to shun harmful habits such as gambling. Ngawang's death came as a huge shock to the residents of Driru, especially the monks of Tarmoe monastery. “He [Ngawang Jampel] was the most efficient administrator, teacher and a very conscientious person. Tarmoe would never be the same again without him,” TCHRD quoted its source.  Chinese government considers Driru as one of the most restive regions brewing anti China sentiments and activities in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the source said. "They fear that instability in Diru could cause ripple effect in other areas in the TAR. Therefore, they have been engaged in forcing Tibetans in Driru to rigorous 'Thought Education Campaign' since September."

French lawmakers propose Tibet Resolution in the National Assembly

Phayul[Wednesday, December 18, 2013 10:19]

Noël Mamère, Jean-Patrick Gille at the press conference. Paris, Tuesday 17 December 2013 PARIS, December 18: Deputies Jean-Patrick Gille from the Socialist Party, and Noël Mamère from the Greens Party on Tuesday presented a Tibet resolution in the French Parliament appealing to "restart dialogue between the Chinese authorities and the representatives of Tibetan government in exile". The proposal was made in the backdrop of a visit to the French parliament on Tuesday by Wu Yingjie, deputy secretary of Tibet's regional committee of the Communist Party of China, on the invitation of France-China Friendship group.  The resolution also called upon France and European Union to appoint a Special Coordinator for Tibetan Affairs. Deputies Gille and Mamère, who serve as co-presidents of the Tibet group at the French lower house also called upon the French government to take an active role in the Tibet impasse. "It is now urgent that France lobby the Chinese government to end its repressive policy towards the Tibetan minority, particularly with regard to places of worship, and reaffirm her support for Tibetans, with regard to respect for human rights and freedom of expression that are the foundation of our foreign policy," said a joint press statement by the two who are part of the ruling coalition.  Referring to ongoing spate of self-immolations in Tibet, Deputy Gille said that the self-immolations are "non-violent" and "sadly the most visible part of the the daily struggle" of the Tibetan people.  Gille noted that the proposed resolution reaffirms the right of the Tibetan people to "freedom of conscience", in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 36 of the Constitution of PRC and "condemns the threat to language, culture, religion, heritage and the environment of Tibet" and the violations thereof by China. Deputy Mamere said it also reiterates "support for the Middle Way Approach advocated by the Dalai Lama, whose purpose, as clearly stated in the Memorandum of 2010, is to establish" real autonomy for Tibet within the framework of PRC.

Its only a matter of time before big cracks appear

From theregister.co.uk

China's thirst for social networks will help the country's citizens smash through its rigid state control, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has claimed.

He said during a conference in London on Monday that popular sites such as Weibo and WeChat would help to liberalise the People's Republic.

Schmidt spoke of a meeting he had had with leaders of the country's Communist Party earlier this month. According to reports, he told President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang that the Chinese government's efforts to stifle public opinion online would ultimately prove to be fruitless.

In recent months, China has passed stringent censorship and libel legislation on social media, including the imposition of penalties for anyone who creates "online rumours" that are reposted more than 500 times.

"They’re heavily regulated but to me the most interesting thing about talking to the Government, from the President all the way through to the governors, was they are obsessed about what is going on on the internet," Schmidt said, according to theDaily Telegraph.

"So they passed these laws, which Mr Xi pushed through, which are horrific, are that if you have more than 500 people you ‘incite’ you are heavily criminally liable. Everyone in China has more than 500 followers because there are so many Chinese people so it essentially puts everyone at risk.

"Weibo and WeChat will move. You simply cannot imprison enough Chinese people when they all agree to something. You won’t be able to stop it even if you don’t like it."

The Google man added that the huge drift of citizens towards social networks would lead to a "liberalisation of the country". ®

A non-profit anti-censorship body has called on Eric Schmidt and Google to lead by example and call China’s bluff on web censorship with a simple two-pronged approach.

GreatFire.org co-founder Charlie Smith claimed in a blog post that Google should switch its China search service to HTTPS by default, as it does in the US, which means Beijing would have to block it completely or not at all, rather than the selective search results it blocks today.

Secondly, Smith urged Google to redirect users trying to visit blocked sites to a mirrored version of that site hosted by the Chocolate Factory.

He argued that if the authorities are prepared to let developer site Github continue, having appeared to back down over blocking the HTTPS site outright earlier this year, then Google would be in an even stronger position if it stood up to Beijing.

“They have sometimes made Google services like Gmail excruciatingly difficult to use,” he wrote. “But given how essential Google’s services are to so many individuals and businesses, blocking the company entirely would have immediate and disastrous economic consequences.”

As for site mirroring, it’s something GreatFire.org has done recently to ensure users inside the Great Firewall can visit the blocked Reuters China and China Digital Times sites, so it could certainly be done with little effort, Smith argued.

Smith continued:

It would be easy for Google to make a change to its search engine, so that when a person clicks on a link that Google knows is blocked, they would redirect that user to an unblocked version of the page, hosted on an unblockable proxy. They could also add a small indication in their search results which would basically say: “This page is blocked in your country, but we have taken the liberty to protect your liberty by redirecting you to a mirror of this page”. Google is already half way there. Google caches most internet pages and provides them to users. The cache is hosted on a separate domain, which is blocked in China. Google can simply host the cache on a subpath, say https://www.google.com/webcache (and in country specific domains) to bypass the block. The great firewall will no longer be able to prevent visitors from China accessing this cache without blocking Google entirely.

Google currently has less than a five per cent share of the Chinese search market, and it makes little from Android thanks to highly localised content and the popularity of third party app stores in the PRC – so on the one hand there appears to be little preventing the firm from getting more proactive.

However, despite relocating its search servers to Hong Kong in a well publicised move in 2010, it still has three offices in China and has shown itself to be pretty risk averse in the region since.

For example in January this year it turned off a censorship alert service just six months after rolling it out to Chinese users.

It could also be argued at a push that while Beijing is happy to let the likes of Github get away without being blocked wholesale, if Google did the same it would simply represent too big a challenge to its authority to look the other way.

Despite Eric Schmidt’s claims that global censorship could be over in a decade, therefore, it’s likely that Google itself is prepared to do little to make this a reality.

The news around GreatFire.org’s site mirroring and the blocking of Reuters China and The Wall Street Journal by Beijing has gained much media traction in the past fortnight – so much so that notorious Taiwanese animators NMA have got in on the act.

We have had some entries to the competition

The Competition details can be found here

20 year old monk immolates self in Golok

Phayul[Monday, November 11, 2013 21:43] from Phayul.com

A 20 year old Tibetan monk has set himself ablaze earlier today in Tibet's Pema County in Golok, a Tibetan source told phayul.  A monk of Akyong monastery, Tsering lit himself up in protest against the Chinese government and its hardline policies, the same source said. Engulfed in flames, Tsering collapsed after walking a few metres. Chinese police on street patrol arrived at the scene and doused the fire. Tsering was rushed to the county hospital where he is kept under strict police surveillance.  Tsering is the 123rd Tibetan to set his body ablaze in protest against China since 2009. November 12 Update: The 20 year old Tibetan monk who set himself ablaze yesterday died on the way to Xiling hospital, a Tibetan source said.  The source told Phayul that Tsering Gyal succumbed to his burn injuries yesterday around 10 PM (local time) as he was being moved to a bigger hospital in Xiling city. Before breathing his last, Gyal had said, “Today, I burned myself for the re-union of Tibetans. My only hope is the unity among Tibetans and the preservation of the Tibetan language and tradition. If we do that, all the Tibetans will be re-united.” Tsering Gyal set himself ablaze in Pema County in Golok to protest against the Chinese government and its hardline policies. Engulfed in flames, Tsering collapsed after walking a few metres from a giant lotus made up of concrete at the centre of the town towards the County headquarters.  Witnesses have told our source that he was chanting "Gyalwa Tenzin Gyatso khyen" (may His Holiness the Dalai Lama know) before collapsing. Chinese police on street patrol arrived at the scene and doused the fire.  At midnight, Tsering’s charred body was taken to Aakyong monastery where over 200 monks from Akyong, Peyag and Gomang monastery performed post death rituals.  A large number of armed forces have now been deployed in Pema County and a strict monitoring of people's movement in and out of the county is in place. Gyal is the 123rd Tibetan to have immolated self in protest against the Chinese government since 2009.

A Message To William Hague

I sent this today

Dear Foreign Secretary

please do not vote for China to be on the Human Rights Council today.

China's human rights record is getting worse and they are a long way off being responsible world citizens.

China is also about to wreck the Tibetan Plateau with large scale mining against the wishes of the Tibetan people

Cheap crap from China isn't worth it

Many thanks

Richard Moulton

And here is the reply

Dear Mr Moulton,

Thank you for your email of 11 November to the Foreign Secretary on Human Rights in China.  I am replying on behalf of the China department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

You asked that the UK vote against China’s re-election to the UN Human Rights Council.  As a matter of policy, the UK does not reveal its voting intentions regarding UN issues, so unfortunately I cannot comment directly. However I can assure you that we carefully consider every country that stands for election to the UN Human Rights Council, and will continue to engage China on human rights issues, including through discussion of its specific pledges to the UN Human Rights Council as part of its bid for membership.

We remain very concerned about the situation in Tibet. We consistently raise these concerns with the Chinese authorities. We did so most recently with the Chinese Embassy in London at official level on 24 October 2013. Our human rights concerns are also addressed in detail in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Annual Human Rights Report (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk), published on 15 April, and in the update to it, published on 17 October 2013.

During the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process we called on China to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to set a timetable to do so. China has until March 2014 to respond to all concerns raised during the UPR process. The UPR, and the meetings of the UN Human Rights Council, provide regular opportunities to engage with China with the aim of improving its human rights record.

I can assure you that British Ministers are robust in their defence of human rights, and will be discussing these issues with Chinese counterparts this autumn and beyond. We are seeking dates for the next UK-China Human Rights Dialogue which we hope will take place in early 2014.  As the Foreign Secretary has said, we must have a foreign policy based on our values.

Regards

China Department

Foreign & Commonwealth Office