Tibet: Politics and Government

Norman Baker
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities on the situation in occupied Tibet.

Meg Munn
We continue to closely monitor the situation in Tibet and the surrounding region. We have expressed our concern regularly to the Chinese authorities, both in Beijing and London, and continue to urge them to respect fully the human rights of those detained; to avoid use of excessive force in dealing with unrest; and to respect freedom of expression and religion in Tibet. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has discussed Tibet several times with Foreign Minister Yang, most recently on 12 June.

We continue to emphasise that the current political difficulties in Tibet can best be resolved through dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama and his representatives. We are pleased that the two sides have restarted the process of dialogue, meeting in Shenzhen in May and again in Beijing from 1-2 July. We hope that a further round will be convened again soon and that this will make substantive progress.