MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the cases of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo and Lee Ming-Che
4.7.2017 - (2017/2754(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Elena Valenciano, Soraya Post, Jo Leinen on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0459/2017
B8‑0460/2017
European Parliament resolution on the cases of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo and Lee Ming-Che
The European Parliament,
-having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation in China, in particular the one of 21 January 2010 on human rights violations in China, notably the case of Liu Xiaobo, the one of 16 December 2015 on EU-China relations and the one of 20 th February 2015 on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2013 and the European Union policy on the matter,
-having regard to the EU-China Strategic Partnership launched in 2003 and to the European Commission and EEAS joint communication to the European Parliament and the Council entitled ‘Elements for a new EU strategy on China’, of 22 June 2016,
-having regard to the EU-China Summit held in Brussels on 1 -2 June 2017,
-having regard to the 35th round EU-China dialogue on human rights on 22 - 23 June 2017 in Brussels, and the statement of Antonio Panzeri, the DROI Chair of 22 June 2017 on the occasion of the EU-China Human Rights dialogue of 22-23 June 2017,
-having regard to the EU statement at the 34st Session of the UNHRC on 14 March 2017
-having regard to the EEAS statement of 9 December 2016 on the International Human Rights Day,
-having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966,
-having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A.whereas the promotion and the respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law should remain at the centre of the long standing relationship between the EU and China, in line with the EU’s commitment to uphold these values in its external action and China’s expressed interest in adhering to these very values in its own development and international cooperation;
B.whereas Liu Xiaobo, Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who called for political reforms has been formally detained in prison four times over the course of the last thirty years; whereas Liu was sentenced to eleven years imprisonment and two years deprivation of political rights on 25 December 2009 after he helped write a manifesto known as "Charter 08";
C.whereas on October 8, 2010, the Nobel Committee awarded Liu the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.";
D.whereas Liu Xiabo was granted medical parole on June 26, 2017, after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer; whereas medical parole, doesn't mean he is entirely free and still subjects him to various restrictions; whereas Chinese authorities rejected requests by Liu and his wife to seek access to medical care of his choosing, or move to his home in Beijing;
E.whereas Liu’s wife Liu Xia has been held in effective house arrest since Liu was awarded the Peace Prize in 2010 and since then was permitted only limited contacts except with close family and a few friends;
F.whereas Lee Ming-che, a pro-democracy and human rights activist originating from Taiwan, went missing on 19 March 2017, after he crossed from Macau into Zhuhai in China’s Guangdong province; whereas China’s Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed at a news conference that the “relevant authorities” had detained Lee and placed him under investigation on suspicion of “engaging in activities that endanger national security”;
G.whereas the present events come at a period when the cross-Strait relations are deteriorating, while the year 2017 should have marked the 30th anniversary of the start of cross-Strait exchanges;
H.whereas China has progressed in the last decades in realisation of economic and social rights, reflecting its priorities for the people’s rights to subsistence and development, while the development of political and civil rights together with the promotion of human rights is limited and partially even regressing;
I.whereas last month a Member State blocked the initiative of an EU statement criticising the crackdown on activists and dissidents in China that was due to be submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 15 June; whereas according to human rights NGOs this was the first time the EU had failed to make such a statement at the UN’s top rights body.
1.Calls on the Chinese authorities to immediately grant 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and his wife, Liu Xia parole on humanitarian grounds, allow him to seek access to medical care of his choosing, including overseas if he wished and freely communicate with the outside world;
2.Deplores the failure of the Chinese authorities to provide Liu Xiaobo with the necessary adequate medical assistance to diagnose the illness at an earlier stage and calls for accountability at every single level for those who wrongfully imprisoned him and misjudged his health conditions;
3.Calls on the Chinese authorities to provide evidence related to the case of Lee Ming-Che or to release him immediately; to ensure in the meantime that Lee Ming-che is protected from torture and other ill-treatment and that he is allowed access to his family, a lawyer of his choice and adequate medical care;
4.Recalls the importance for the EU to raise the issue of human rights violation in China at every political and human rights dialogue with the Chinese authorities, in line with the EU’s commitment to project a strong, clear and unified voice in its approach to the country, including the yearly Human Rights Dialogues; further reminds that in its ongoing reform process and increasing global engagement China has opted into the international human rights framework by signing up to a wide range of international human rights treaties; therefore calls on pursuing the dialogue with China to live up to these commitments;
5.Regrets the failure of the EU to make a statement on Human Rights in China at the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva in June; calls on all EU Member States to adopt a firm value-based approach towards China and expects them not to undertake unilateral initiatives or acts that undermine the coherence, the effectiveness and the consistency of the EU action;
6.Notes with interest the progress in the current negotiations on the investment agreement with China, and reiterates the point made on the occasion of the 5 July 2016 Resolution on the implementation of the 2010 recommendations of Parliament on social and environmental standards, human rights and corporate responsibility (2015/2038(INI)).
7.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Government and Parliament of the People’