MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

15.1.2008

with request for inclusion in the agenda for the debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 115 of the Rules of Procedure
by Marco Cappato, István Szent-Iványi, Dirk Sterckx, Marios Matsakis, Frédérique Ries, Anneli Jäätteenmäki
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on the arrest of the Chinese dissident, Hu Jia

NB: This motion for a resolution is available in the original language only.

B6‑0034/2008

European Parliament resolution on the arrest of the Chinese dissident, Hu Jia

The European Parliament,

• -having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation of human rights in China,
• -having regard to its resolution on the EU-China Summit and the EU-China human rights dialogue adopted on 13 December 2008,
• -having regard to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
• -having regard to the UN Olympic Truce adopted on 31 October 2007,
• -having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas the human rights campaigner Hu Jia was taken away by police at his home in Beijing on 27 December 2007 on charges of inciting subversion,

B.  whereas Hu Jia’s lawyers are not allowed to contact their client and one of them, Li Jinsong, was put under house arrest for a few hours after meeting foreign journalists,

C.  whereas Hu Jia’s wife, Zeng Jinyan, has been completely isolated since Hu’s arrest, the phone lines and Internet connection being cut off, a curtain being installed outside her apartment and police officers being permanently stationed around her home,

D.  whereas Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan have thrown the spotlight on human rights abuses in China and spent many periods under house arrest over the past few years because of their campaigning,

E.  whereas Hu Jia informed on 26 November 2007 the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights on the current situation in China,

F.  whereas Hu Jia and Zeng Jinyan were nominated for the 2007 Sakharov Prize,

G.  whereas human rights organizations called the arrest another move by Chinese authorities to silence critics ahead of the Beijing Olympics,

H.  whereas 57 intellectuals from China published an open letter and called for the immediate release of Hu Jia,

1.  Strongly condemns the detention of Hu Jia and calls for his immediate release;

2.  Urges the Chinese authorities to guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Hu Jia, his relatives and his lawyers;

3.  Calls on China to respect its commitments to human rights and the rule of law and urges the Chinese authorities to show China’s commitment to human rights in its Olympic year;

4.  Urges China not to abuse the Olympic Games in order to arrest dissidents, journalist or human rights activists to prevent embarrassing demonstrations and reportings;

5.  Believes that human rights concerns should receive much more focus in the build-up to the Beijing Olympic Games and calls on the Council to remind the Chinese authorities of their commitments to respect "the fundamental ethnical principles and the promotion of a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity" as enshrined in Articles 1 and 2 of the Olympic Charter;

6.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments of the Member States, the governments and parliaments of the applicant countries, the President and Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China and the International Olympic Committee.