B4-0047, 0052, 0063, 0073, 0084, 0087 and 0103/96

Resolution on conditions in Chinese orphanages

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its previous resolutions concerning human rights abuses in China;

- having regard to the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by China in 1991;

- having regard to the International Code of Medical Ethics;

- having regard to the Human Rights Watch Asia report 'Death by Default: A Policy of Fatal Neglect in China's State Orphanages¨ of 7 January 1996;

A. shocked by revelations about conditions in Chinese orphanages, exposed by the Human Rights Watch Asia report 'Death by Default¨ and by the Channel Four television programme 'Return to the Dying Rooms¨, both produced in January 1996, which show that many children have been deliberately deprived of nourishment and treatment and have consequently died,

B. stressing that evidence of these appalling conditions derives either from eye-witnesses, or from written protests by medical staff, lawyers, and members of the People's Congress of Shanghai, or from official documents such as the Ministry of Civil Affairs 1990 'Civil Affairs Statistical Yearbook¨, which gives a death rate for 1989 of 57.9 per cent of children in orphanages,

C. whereas these sources seem to point to a deliberate policy to minimise China's population of abandoned children through intentional starvation and neglect,

D. whereas medical records and testimony obtained in respect to the Shanghai Children's Welfare Institute are reported to show that deaths there were in many cases deliberate and cruel,

E. pointing out that there is a high proportion of girls and disabled children among the victims; recalling the practice in China since ancient times of abandoning infants; aware of the rigorous application of the 'one child policy¨ in China which has sometimes led to abortions being forced on mothers,

F. concerned by official figures which reveal that only 20,000 of China's abandoned children are cared for in orphanages - only a fraction of the 100,000 orphans acknowledged by the Chinese authorities, which is itself a surprisingly low figure given official admissions that a large number of children are being abandoned by their parents,

1. Urges the European Union to raise the issue of orphanages with the Chinese authorities during the EU/China Human Rights Dialogue to be held in Beijing on 29 January 1996;

2. Calls upon the Chinese authorities to open all orphanages for immediate inspection by foreign and domestic observers, including UNICEF and child welfare NGOs;

3. Requests the European Commission urgently to complete the investigation it announced to the Parliament on 14 November 1995 on orphanages in China, and to report its findings within three months;

4. Expresses its horror at the sight of children, whom officials consider unwanted, being put to death by starvation and neglect;

5. Stresses that the treatment of such children sharply contradicts the Chinese government's claim that civil liberties are being suppressed in order to ensure the economic and material well-being of the Chinese people;

6. Calls on the Chinese authorities to adopt strict rules outlawing abuses against children in public institutions, such as chaining children up;

7. Appeals to the Chinese authorities to expose any institutions not upholding human rights in the treatment of children, and calls on them to ensure that the persons responsible for perpetrating or concealing abuses against orphans in Shanghai, in particular, should be brought to justice, and that a full report be made on efforts to obstruct the holding of an official enquiry into this case;

8. Condemns the arrest of the brother of Dr Zhang Shuyun, a key contributor to the Human Rights Watch Report, and charges which could lead to the death penalty;

9. Asks the Commission to consider the implementation of projects financed or co-financed by the European Union in the light of progress made by China in improving human rights, especially in respect of the issues raised in this resolution;

10. Instructs its Delegation for Relations with China to raise the issue of orphanages with the Chinese authorities on the occasion of its forthcoming visit to China;

11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Parliaments of the Member States, the government and National People's Congress of China, the People's Congress of Shanghai, and UNICEF and Human Rights Watch Asia.