Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese government on the safety of British journalists working in China.

Mr Hugo Swire

We remain concerned by the harassment and detention of journalists in China. We continue to urge the Chinese authorities to respect and protect freedom of expression and association, in line with its constitution and the international frameworks to which China is a party. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised this issue with the Chinese Foreign Minister earlier this year. Specifically, he expressed his disappointment at the unacceptable treatment of journalists, including those from the UK, outside the court during the trial of Pu Zhiqiang. I raised the same issue with Vice Minister Cheng Fengxiang, of the Chinese Communist Party International Liaison Department, in December 2015. The latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights report highlights further concerns over the treatment of some journalists in China (including foreign journalists).