Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-10-Speech-3-053"
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"en.20020410.3.3-053"2
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"Mr President, Mr Graça Moura is entitled to more than the usual courtesies extended in the House. I should like to thank him most sincerely for the draft resolution presented in plenary. Moreover, the draft has received almost unanimous support from the relevant committee. I have been a member of the delegation for relations with the People´s Republic of China since 1986, and I believe it is fair to say that this is the most balanced text ever presented in plenary on the issue. Were the Socialist Group’s amendments to be included, it would indeed be almost perfect.
I have absolutely no doubt that, along with the introduction of the euro and enlargement of the European Union, the development of China will be remembered as one of the four or five milestones in the history of the world in the twenty-first century. Hence the importance I attach to relations between China and the European Union. I could comment on a great many issues, but I shall focus on just a few points in the interests of saving time and bearing in mind that other members of my group will be taking the floor. I will start from the premise that in our culture drawing a friend’s attention to his or her shortcomings is not considered to be interference. On the contrary, we believe it is a friend’s duty to do so. I have endeavoured to explain this to our Chinese partners on numerous occasions. For example, we speak out against the death penalty wherever it is in force, whether it be in the United States or in China. Nonetheless, we consider both these countries to be our friends.
Mr President, it must be a sign of the times that the Chinese authorities have responded favourably to the Commission communication on which the report is based. All the Union’s institutions agree that it is in China’s own interest, not just in that of the European Union, for the People’s Republic to become stable and prosperous and move towards democracy. This must go beyond holding municipal elections with more than a single candidate per post.
It is important to promote exchanges of all kinds. Those of us unfortunate enough to have the experience of living under a dictatorship for many years realise that isolation tended to strengthen the dictator’s position instead of helping democrats striving to overthrow them. Accession to the World Trade Organisation is a challenge the Chinese Government has been brave enough to rise to. It will involve risks and will have untold repercussions within and without the country. In the short term, it has already caused restructuring and large-scale lay-offs in certain sectors of industry.
Turning to the major area of human rights, China still has a long way to go, in our view. Under-development is no excuse here. A moratorium on execution of the sentence on those already condemned to death must be achieved, prior to pressing for the elimination of these sentences. We have received very many well-founded allegations of torture. Torture must be eliminated.
We welcomed a delegation from Tibet a few weeks ago, and feel that was a positive step. They provided some useful information, but many questions remain unanswered. The Chinese authorities should therefore be urged to pursue their recent policy of freeing Tibetan political prisoners. These are moves in the right direction, and are bound to benefit China and relations between China and the European Union."@en1
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