28 Amendments of Ana GOMES related to 2012/2137(INI)
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU-China strategic partnership is of great importance for relations between the EU and China, and this relationship is paramount for finding answers to global concerns, such as global security, nuclear non-proliferamely regional conflicts that may affect the security of Asia, Europe and deriving from their respective neighbourhoods, WMD non-proliferation, namely nuclear, global financial and market regulation and climate change;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I f (new)
Recital I f (new)
If. whereas despite the Chinese government's progress in the promotion of some economic and social rights, the exercise of rights of expression, association, assembly, press and of joining trade unions is persistently repressed; whereas human rights organisations continue to report serious human rights abuses by the Chinese authorities, namely the sentencing high- profile dissidents such as imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, expanded restrictions on media and internet freedom, tightened surveillance and harassment of lawyers, human rights defenders, and nongovernmental organisations, broadened control and oppression on Uyghurs, Tibetans and their freedoms, increasing numbers of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, including in secret, unlawful detention facilities known as "black jails"; whereas repressive policies against Tibetans' basic freedoms have triggered a worrying number of self-immolations in recent years;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I g (new)
Recital I g (new)
Ig. whereas China is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and a Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council; whereas such status determines special duties for China to abide by its international legal obligations under the ICCPR and the Charter of the United Nations;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I h (new)
Recital I h (new)
Ih. whereas Hu Jia, Laureate of the Sakharov Prize 2008, and his wife Zeng Jinyan, remain in house arrest under great surveillance and restricted communication;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas despite immense ethnic and religious diversity in the country, the Chinese state recognises only five religions, namely Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, and Christianity (both Catholicism and Protestantism); whereas all have centralised governing bodies with headquarters in Beijing and are staffed by officials loyal to the CCP; whereas the CCP appoints top religious leaders and bans non-approved sects like Falun Gonghas banned non-approved sects like Falun Gong since 1999 with the aim of eradicating the practice; whereas as a consequence of such ban, human rights organisations have reported extralegal coercive measures, such as arbitrary arrests, forced labour, and physical torture, sometimes resulting in death;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the 21st century sees the impressive return of China on the world scene as a supern economic and commercial power, on account of its ongoing rapidly growing economic andpower and opaque military powerbuild up;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the positive role of the PRC in South-East Asia in terms of economic regionalisation and dynamics is becoming increasingly overshadowed by territorial disputes with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, in the South China Sea with Vietnam (Paracel/Xisha islands) and Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan (Spratly/Nansha islands) – all areas rich in fish, as well as in oil and gas reserves;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas China maintains close relations with North Korea, graphically described by Mao Zedong as being ‘as close as lips and teeth’;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas the relations between China and the USA are one of the world's most important bilateral tierelationships, in particular owing to the phenomenon of ‘Chinamerica’, or the strong financial- economic entanglement of Beijing and Washington;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas nowhere in the world is China's explosive growth more visible than in Africa, as illustrated by the impressive rise of China's mutual trade volume by 80 % to USD 166.3 billion between 2009 and 2011, according to Chinese statistics; whereas China's involvement in Africa, in economic and commercial terms, does not encompass a policy consistent with the promotion of human rights and of the Millennium Development Goals, including sustainable development, the rule of law and human security;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), approved by the National People's Congress in March 2012, which strongly intends to tackle the negative side effects of an unparalleled period of sustained high economic growth, such as acute environmental threats, regional imbalances, rising income inequality and continuing collective protests centred on social, economic and legal grievances; asserts that European capabilities and experiences can be of great value in sustaining and fostering innovation in China's economy is well positioned to press for such efforts and should support the Chinese in doing their utmost to mitigate the potential negative effects of heir policies, internally as well as abroad, in accordance with EU's principles and values;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Acknowledges the popular legitimacy of the CCP, especially in view of its successful economic policy, but sShares the criticism of independent Chinese scholars and observers that thisCCP legitimacy is seriously threatened by a ‘'red aristocracy’' of close family members of former and present party leaders who possess enormous fortunes owing to their political and economic connections, a grave situation which was recently laid bare by the Bo Xilai affair;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Looks forward to the speedy implementation of the repeated calls for democratisation and political reforms inside the CCP; by means of an open- minded new party leadership; belieelieves that only effective political reforms towards the shaping of inclusive, democratic and accountable institutions reflecting China's ethnic, religious, political and social diversity will paves that only effective political reforms wille way to build sustainable growth, stability and prosperity for Chinese citizens, particularly by curbing the semi- independence of high- handed provincial, district and local party bosses, who badly damage the reputation of China's national leadership both internally and externally with their abuses of power, with particular reference to the very costly and endemic cases of corruption;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Shares and supports the vehement rejection by Chinese lawyers of a compulsory oath of allegiance to the CCP on the grounds that it is an attack on the legal system which blatantly disregards international legal standards, because any lawyer should swear to the Constitution and not to a political party or organisation;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Underlines that although forced abortions are strictly illegal in China, family-planning officials repeatedly coerce women into abortions or sterilisation; condemns the so-called ‘'social maintenance fee’', an often exorbitant fine that parents have to pay in the event of extra births, as was the case in the tragedy of Feng Jianmei; wholeheartedly supports Chinese voices that calls for anthe end of the tragic one-child policy;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the increasing contacts between the PRC and Taiwan; notes China's strong wish for reunification with Taiwan; stresses that this political aim is still seriously undermined by Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan and China's international isolation of Taiwan; expects thatcalls on China, Taiwan and the EU willwhole international community to respect the free choice of Taiwanese citizens on the international status of their country;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Admires and supports the courage and the social responsibilaudacity of numerous Chinese citizens for defending precioushuman and social rights in their country, but denounces the tragic state of affairs whereby several of them are being officially persecuted and punish, punished and imprisoned for their efforts to correctdemand accountability for human rights abuses and publicly condemn well- known social dangers/criminillegal acts such as corruption, abuse of office, environmental damage, AIDS infection, food poisoning, construction fraud concerning schools, illegal land and property expropriation, often committed by local party authorities; urges the Chinese leadership to encourage civil responsibility for observing social human rightopen up the political space and pursue political reforms to trigger national reconciliation, protect basic freedoms and to rehabilitate officially persecuted and punished defenders of thesehuman rights; also expects a responsible Chinese leadership to comply strictly wwith iths individuternational human rights and fight the impunity of past offenders;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that the Chinese Government is tightening its surveillance of the internet by way of a new law that forbids betrayal of state secrets, harming of national pride, endangering the ethnic unity of the country or making calls for ‘'illegal protests’' or ‘'mass meetings’'; criticises the fact that these prohibitions are rather obscurely formulated and thus clear the way for unbridled censorship and persecution;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recognises the enormous efforts made by the Chinese Government to develop Tibet and Xinjiang economically; condemns however the renewed crackdown in Tibet comprising a blackout on information and communications into and out of region, travel restrictions, increased repressive security operations and multiple arbitrary detentions; urges the Chinese Government to act in a politically responsible way by respecting and protecting Tibetan and Uighur traditional cultures and lifestyles; believes that Beijing cannot win the hearts and minds of the Tibetan and Uighur peoples by way of millions of surveillance cameras or repressive police methods; urges the Chinese Government to put an end to the bar of independent observers to the regions;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that, notwithstanding a harsh policy of repression, a religious revival is taking place in China which is demonstrated by the reopening or reconstruction of countless places of worship; urges the Chinese authorities to replace their ineffective policy of controlling religion with one offering real freedom of religion or belief;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 e (new)
Paragraph 12 e (new)
(e) Recalls that upon the adoption of a new EU human rights strategy, EU foreign ministers pledged in June 2012 that the EU will now "raise human rights issues vigorously in all appropriate forms of bilateral dialogue, including at the highest level"; takes the view that such dialogue should be included in all contacts with officials from strategic partners like China; regrets though that the EU-China human rights dialogues have failed to produce concrete and visible results so far; takes the view that EU-China summits and human rights talks should include a set of transparent issues to be discussed and concrete benchmarks; urges the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, to voice her concerns regarding human rights abuses in China and publicly refer to the concrete cases and issues discussed with Chinese officials in all encounters; encourages EU Member States' officials to follow the same lines in a coherent and coordinated manner; calls on EU companies with activities in China to comply with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and urges the EU and Member States to closely monitor such compliance;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the PRC to use its regained global position in a responsible way by acting according to its own criteria of ‘peaceful development’ and ‘a harmonious world’, namely in the United Nations Security Council where it holds a permanent seat and a veto right; stresses, in this light, the need for China to abandon its veto position to any UNSC resolution allowing for intervention in Syria to halt the civil war and to enable the Syrian people to take the future of their country in their hands, in a democratic and free process;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
(e) Urges the PRC to unequivocally commit to the respect of the UN Charter and International Law in the pursuit of its goals abroad;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Notes and regrets that the survival of the dictatorial and repressive North Korean regime depends essentially on China; looks forward to China continuing to take responsibility for stability on the Korean Peninsula, a swift resumption of the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear threat, and, above all, to a drastic improvement in the day-to-day living conditions of North Korean citizens brought about through Chinese incentives;
Amendment 317 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Appreciates the Chinese leadership's acknowledgement of the serious criticism of its imbalanced, raw-material-centred African policy during the Forum of Chinese-African Cooperation (FOCAC), held on 20 July 2012 in Beijing, which is shown by its current open promotion of a diversification of its activities on the continent; points to the obvious ethical and strategic flaws of China's non-intervention principle in Africa's domestic policies in cases of popular resistance against repressive regimes (e.g., Sudan), or in cases of regime change (e.g., Libya); notes that the increasing Chinese presence in Africa has led to grave social tensions, but welcomes the fact that Chinese companies have expressed their willingness to place greater emphasis on sCorporate Social rResponsibility in their African activities; urges the Chinese authorities to anchor the policies in Africa on the principles and respect for human rights, the promotion of sustainable development and human security;