European Parliament resolution on breaches of human rights in China, in particular as regards freedom of religion
Date: 2005-09-08
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: China, Christian, freedom of religious beliefs, human rights, religious discrimination

17.8.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 193 E/347

Thursday 8 September 2005

P6_TA(2005)0339

Breaches of human rights in China, in particular as regards freedom of religion

European Parliament resolution on breaches of human rights in China, in particular as regards free-
dom of religion

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Treaty on European Union and its provisions on human rights,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on violations of human and minority rights and religious

freedom in China,

— having regard to China's long philosophical and religious tradition,

— having regard to its resolution of 28 April 2005 on the Annual Report on Human Rights in the World

2004 and EU policy in this regard (1),

— having regard to its resolution of 24 February 2005 on the EU's priorities and recommendations for
the 61st session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva (14 March to 22 April 2005) (2),

— having regard to the report and recommendations of the EU-China human rights dialogue seminar of

20-21 June 2005,

— having regard to the Joint Statement of the EU-China Summit of 5 September 2005,

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. well aware that religious persecution in China is a general problem that hurts many churches and

religious communities, including Christians, Tibetan Buddhists and Muslims among others,

B. whereas respect for human rights is a key priority in EU policies and one of the fundamental principles

of the European Union,

C. whereas the promotion of human rights as established in the Treaties is an objective of the Common

Foreign and Security Policy,

D. whereas the EU-China Summit of 5 September 2005 marked the 30th anniversary of EU-China diplo-
matic ties with agreement on a new strategic dialogue; whereas the question of human rights is one of
the key issues which was placed on the agenda,

E. whereas the EU-China human rights dialogue makes freedom of religion or belief a matter of priority,

F. whereas, despite the fact that Article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China provides
for freedom of religious belief, the authorities seek in reality to restrict religious practice to government-
sanctioned organisations and registered places of worship, and to control the growth and scope of the
activities of religious groups,

G. whereas China's new Regulations on Religious Affairs, which came into effect on 1 March 2005, have

tightened government control on religious activity,

(1) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2005)0150.
(2) Texts adopted, P6_TA(2005)0051.

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17.8.2006

Thursday 8 September 2005

H. whereas, amongst other Christian denominations, the Catholic Church has endured a long period of
persecution in the People's Republic of China and is still forced to act partly underground as a con-
sequence of these practices,

I. whereas the Chinese authorities have intensified their control of unregistered Protestant house churches

and interference in the process of appointing bishops,

J. whereas many Christian clergy have suffered brutal repression, being prevented not only from practis-
ing public worship but also from carrying out their ministry; deeply concerned at the increase in
arbitrary arrests,
isolation and re-education
camps endured by Christian clergy and lay people,

torture, unexplained disappearances, penal servitude,

1.
Calls on the Chinese Government to put an end to religious repression and to ensure that it respects
international standards of human rights as well as religious rights and guarantees democracy, freedom of
expression, freedom of association, freedom of the media and political and religious freedom in China;

2.
Urges the Chinese Government to abolish the difference between approved and non-approved worship
communities, as has been suggested by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief since
1994;

Calls on the Commission and the Council to make it clear to the Chinese authorities that a genuine

3.
partnership can only develop when shared values are fully respected and put into practice;

Urges the Commission, the Council and the Member States to raise specifically the issue of the perse-

4.
cution of Chinese Christians, and to obtain from the Chinese Government:

(a)

information about the situation of Catholic bishops Mgr James Su Zhimin (diocese of Baoding, Hebei),
72; Mgr Francis An Shuxin (auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Baoding, Hebei), 54; Mgr Han Dingxian
(diocese of Yongnian/Handan, Hebei), 66; Mgr Cosma Shi Enxiang (diocese of Yixian, Hebei), 83; Mgr
Philip Zhao Zhendong, (diocese of Xuanhua, Hebei), 84; Fr Paul Huo Junlong, administrator of the
diocese of Baoding, 50; Mgr Shi Enxiang (diocese of Yixian Hebei province), 83; news about dis-
appeared and arrested clergy, namely Zhang Zhenquan and Ma Wuyong (diocese of Baoding, Hebei);
Fr Li Wenfeng, Fr Liu Heng, and Fr Dou Shengxia (diocese of Shijiazhuang, Hebei); Fr Chi Huitian
(diocese of Baoding, Hebei); Fr Kang Fuliang, Chen Guozhen, Pang Guangzhao, Yin Ruose, and Li
Shujun (diocese of Baoding, Hebei); Fr Lu Xiaozhou (diocese of Wenzhou, Zhejiang); Fr Lin Daoming
(diocese of Fuzhou, Fujian); Fr Zheng Ruipin (diocese of Fuzhou, Fujian); Fr Pang Yongxing, Fr Ma
Shunbao, and Fr Wang Limao (diocese of Baoding, Hebei); Fr Li Jianbo (diocese of Baoding, Hebei);
and Fr Liu Deli; and demands the unconditional release of all Chinese Catholics incarcerated on account
of their religious convictions and the immediate cessation of all kinds of violence towards them;

(b)

information about the situation of Pastor Zhang Rongliang (53), one of the founders of the China for
Christ Church, a group comprising more than 10 million Christians, who was arrested on 1 December
2004, and who is still imprisoned without any legal process; demands the unconditional release of this
pastor and of all other Chinese Christians incarcerated on account of their religious convictions and the
immediate cessation of all kinds of violence towards them;

Urges the Chinese Government to implement Article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic
5.
of China and to ratify and implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

Notes that the Chinese Government has finally accepted the request made by the UN Special Rappor-
6.
teur on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit China before the end of
the year; invites the Chinese Government to set an early date for this visit; calls on the Chinese authorities
to allow access for the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief to the Panchen Lama as
designated by the Dalai Lama;

7. Welcomes the existence of an EU-China human rights structured dialogue; expresses disappointment at
the lack of substantial results coming from this dialogue; invites the Council and the Commission to raise
this issue of concern during the forthcoming EU-China human rights session, as part of a thorough assess-
ment of the effectiveness of the structured dialogue;

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8.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Governments
and Parliaments of the Member States and the accession and candidate countries, the member countries of
the UN Commission on Human Rights and the Government of the People's Republic of China.

Thursday 8 September 2005

P6_TA(2005)0340

Political prisoners in Syria

European Parliament resolution on Syria

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

— having regard to Article 11(1) of the Treaty of the European Union and Article 177 of the EC Treaty,
which establish the promotion of human rights as an objective of the common foreign and security
policy,

— having regard to the Barcelona declaration of 28 November 1995,

— having regard to the resolution adopted by the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly on

15 March 2005 in Cairo,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on Syria,

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the accession to power of the current President, Bachar Al Assad, gave rise to some hope in
Syria and went some way towards opening up the Syrian political system, which had been dominated
by the Baath party for many years,

B. whereas the European Parliament and its President have already intervened several times in favour of
the release of the two parliamentarians Riad Seif and Mamun al-Humsi, who are in an alarming con-
dition and have already served three quarters of their prison sentence,

C. whereas civil activists Hasan Zeino, Yassin al-Hamwi and Muhammad Ali al-Abdullah will appear before
military courts in Homs and Damascus charged with ‘possession of publications of a prohibited organi-
sation’, ‘the establishment a secret society’, ‘the defamation of the public administration’, etc.,

D. whereas Haytham al-Hamwi, Yassin al-Hamwi's son, was arrested in 2003, ill-treated and sentenced

after an allegedly unfair trial (according to authoritative sources) to four years' imprisonment,

E. whereas Riad al-Hamood, a Kurdish civil society activist, Arab language teacher and active member of
the Committees for Revival of Civil Society, who was arrested on 4 June 2005 after a speech at the
funeral of an Islamic scholar who had died in custody under mysterious circumstances whilst in solitary
confinement, is at serious risk of ill-treatment,

F. whereas in July 2005 the UN Human Rights Committee expressed its concern ‘at the obstacles imposed
on the registration and free operation of non-governmental human rights organisations’ in Syria and
‘intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders’,

G. whereas respect for human rights is an essential element in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership,