WRITTEN QUESTION E-2932/02 by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission. Persecution of the wife and son of Mr Hada, detained leader of the Southern Mongolia Democratic Alliance.
Date: 2002-10-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: China, EU relations, Mongolia, cruel and degrading treatment, family, freedom of expression, human rights, imprisonment, opposition

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17.4.2003

been put in place in Greece, which accounts for the low percentage figures for 1997 and 2000. However,
the policy of developing lifelong learning is now a priority within the current Community support
framework (CSF) and is a particular focus of attention for both the Member State concerned and the
Commission.

The sum mentioned in the parliamentary question, on the other hand, refers to the total budget of three
specific operational programmes in the period 1994 to 1999: the programmes on continuing training and
employment promotion, on combating labour market exclusion, and on education.

According to the information contained in the final claims for payment under these programmes,
it
appears that 731 040 people were provided with initial or continuing training, making an average of
146 208 people a year. Given that the active population (aged 15 to 64) comprised 3 767 980 persons
(national statistics), the average percentage of people taking part in training and education programmes in
the period from 1994 to 1999 was 4 %. The total sum earmarked for these programmes by the European
Social Fund was EUR 2 952,8 million.

it should be stressed that during this period, national priorities were focused on improving
However,
arrangements and structures in education and the jobs market on the one hand, and on tackling
unemployment and social exclusion on the other. Much of this funding was therefore used in pursuit of
these objectives. This is why the proportion of unemployed people who took part in training (45 584
persons a year on average) was only 10 % of the total number of persons registered as unemployed
(an annual average of 460 760).

Given that many of the arrangements and structures in the fields of education, training and employment
were put in place in the period from 1994 to 1999, the main priority in the current programming period
2000-2006 is on back-up measures for the European employment strategy (tailored approach, active
lifelong learning, equal opportunities). The number of persons provided with
employment measures,
training thus rose to 311 601 in 2001, i.e. around 7,1 % of the active population. Furthermore,
it is
expected that this figure will increase to 454 987 in 2002.

(2003/C 92 E/279)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2932/02

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(17 October 2002)

Subject: Persecution of the wife and son of Mr Hada, detained leader of the Southern Mongolia Democratic

Alliance

Ms Xinna, wife of the Inner Mongolian political prisoner Mr Hada arrested in 1995 for having founded the
Southern Mongolia Democratic Alliance and sentenced in 1996 to 15 years’ imprisonment for ‘separatist
activities and espionage’, reports that her 17-year old son Uiles is being brutally treated by the Chinese
authorities in a prison in Inner Mongolia. In 2002 Mr Hada’s son was accused of involvement in robbery
and sentenced to 2 years in jail. He is currently being detained in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous
Region No.1 Juvenile Prison. According to a report by the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information
Centre, Uiles shares an 8m2 cell with 13 other young offenders and is forced to do 13 hours’ hard labour
every day. He is under constant pressure from the prison authorities to break off all relations with his
mother. During a recent visit to her son Mrs Xinna was physically abused by prison guards because she
spoke in Mongolian. She also revealed that during her visit she had seen evidence of torture on her son’s
body; his hands and feet had been bound with a chain weighing over 20 kg for more than 40 hours
because he had resisted ill-treatment by prison guards and his cellmates. Following her husband’s arrest in
1995 the police shut down the Mongolian Study Bookstore and Mongolian Study Reading Club run by
Mrs Xinna and had Uiles expelled from school shortly afterwards for having resisted acts of brutality
against him. The report by the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Centre alleges further that
after Mr Hada’s arrest, Ms Xinna was detained for 3 months for having granted an interview to Voice of
America. In 1997, during celebrations in Huhhot City marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment

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of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, Ms Xinna and her son were forcibly taken to the region’s
eastern border area and detained there for two days. During Chinese leader Jiang Ze-Min’s visit to Inner
Mongolia in 1999, Ms Xinna was put under house arrest and kept under round-the-clock police
surveillance.

What information can the Commission provide about the degrading and inhuman treatment to which
Ms Xinna and her son have been subjected, and what initiatives has it taken or does it intend to take to
ensure that the Chinese authorities respect civil, political and human rights in Inner Mongolia? What
information can it provide about the Mr Hada’s state of health and that of the other members of the
Southern Mongolia Democratic Alliance arrested by the Chinese authorities? In view of the abuses of
fundamental rights reported above, Beijing’s policy of oppression against the people of Inner Mongolia,
and in particular its relentless pursuit of those who champion democracy and the rule of law, what
initiatives does the Commission intend to take in order to win genuine autonomy for Inner Mongolia’s
people from the Chinese authorities?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2002)

The Commission has taken note of the particular situation of the wife and son of Mr Hada, imprisoned
leader of the Democratic Alliance of Inner Mongolia.

The Commission follows closely the human rights situation in China. The Union-China bilateral human
rights dialogue which was established in 1996 offers a valuable opportunity to express our concerns in
this area to the Chinese authorities.

In this dialogue, the Commission regularly addresses issues such as, freedom of expression and association
and respect for the civil and political rights of minorities. In this context, the Commission has paid
particular attention to the situation of individuals who have been persecuted because of their beliefs and
convictions.

The Commission is concerned about respect for civil and political rights in China and will continue to
monitor the situation with particular attention.

(2003/C 92 E/280)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2939/02

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(10 October 2002)

Subject: Future of aromatherapy

Aromatherapists have voiced concerns that proposals to label fragrance allergens as laid out in the
cosmetics directive 76/768/EEC (1) do not distinguish between synthetic and natural compounds, which
will have serious consequences for their profession.

Further to the Commission reply of 24.9.2002 to Written Question E- 2126/02 (2), aromatherapists
respond by stating that tests carried out with synthetic versions of natural substances often have minor
impurities. These may prove to be the allergens and not the materials themselves. Further it is quite likely
that alleged sensitivity effects arise not from the suspected fragrance allergens themselves (pure limonene,
pure linalol etc.) but from minor amounts of oxidation products which inevitably accompany these
somewhat unstable compounds. It is already known that oxidised limonene, alpha-pinene and oxidised
delta-3-carene cause skin sensitivity problems. Limonene is one of the 26 suspected allergens. In their pure
state, and when antioxidant is added, some at least of these materials may not be sensitisers, and this factor
has not been eliminated from the experimental data.