Activities of László TŐKÉS related to 2015/2003(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
EU-China relations (A8-0350/2015 - Bas Belder) HU
EU-China relations (debate) HU
Amendments (26)
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas 2015 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the EU and China; whereas the EU-China Strategic Partnership is of key importance to relations between the EU and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and, to finding mutual answers to a range of global concerns and identifying common interests in order to strengthen cooperation and genuinely deepen mutual understanding and increase trust;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas President Xi Jinping launched the ‘Chinese Dream’, which iswas put forward as a concept and vision aimed at revitaliszing the Chinese nation inside and outside the PRC by strengthening the power monopoly of the CPC, re- ideologising the party, the state and society and increasing the authority of the party leadernational rejuvenation and building a moderately prosperous society across a broad spectrum of economic, social, cultural and political dimensions;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas President Xi Jinping’s popular anti-corruption campaign, launched in 2012 and claimed to address to address governance issues by targeting Party, government, military and state-owned company officials suspected of corruption, has claimed one high-profile victim after another, exposing not only graft, but also the vast fortunes amassed by Chinese leaders and also revealing the infiltration of powerful criminal networks into the political system;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas environmental degradation in China has taken dramatic proportions and requires powerfulurgent, strong and targeted government action;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas in 2013 and 2014 Beijing, Kunming and Urumqi were the targets of major and violent terrorist attacks, leaving 72 people dead and 356 injured; whereas China is preparing an anti counter-terror law, which underlines the fact that the government gives the fight against terrorism the highest priority;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas China is North Korea’s main political supporter, largest investor, aid donor, food and energy supplier and trade partner; whereas Chinese experts recently revealed that North Korea may already have 20 nuclear warheads;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O a (new)
Recital O a (new)
Oa. whereas China has officially and nominally accepted the universality of human rights and in the past three decades opted into the international human rights framework by signing a wide range of human rights treaties thus joining the international arena of international legal institutional framework of human rights;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses the need for EU Member States to speak with one voice to the Chinese Government, particularly in view of Beijing’s present diplomatic dynamism; deploregrets the lack of profound debate and close coordination at EU level regarding Member States’ membership of the AIIB;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that President Xi Jinping is trying to give a new attractive face toimprove the image of Chinese politics through an attitude of openness and to impress world leaders by projecting both accessibility and powerful self-confidence; points out with concern, however, that President Xi is not the new attractive face of Chinese politics for the country's civil rights activists, lawyers, journalists, bloggers and academics, who find their freedom curbed in a way not seen sincefor decades;
Amendment 254 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes that a new law, the Overseas NGO Management Law, was proposed recently, claiming "to regulate the activities of overseas NGOs in China, protect their legal rights and interests and promote exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreigners"; underlines with concern that such a law should not be used to enable the government to further increase control over NGOs and civil society by arbitrarily blocking their activities and urges the Chinese authorities to design a registration and oversight system that guarantees freedom of expression and association as enshrined in the Chinese Constitution and consistent with international law;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Observes that, although the targets of the anti-corruption campaign extend from low level officials to the highest political level, in official discourse referred to as "killing tigers and swatting flies", these seem to be limited to the allies of President Xi's main rivals in the CPC; considers that this fierce ongoing anti-corruption campaign is, at the same time, serving to win back popular trust in the CPC and re-establish the CPC's authority, to discipline the bureaucracy and to eliminate rivals inside the CPC as challenges to its legitimacy in the midst of a slowing economy;
Amendment 277 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Notes the increasing number of peaceful mass environmental protests in different parts of the country, as seen this year following the chemical explosion in Tianjin on 12 August that killed over one hundred people and displaced thousands of residents, bringing China's working and middle class together about a common grievance to demonstrate against projects deemed detrimental to the environment and human health, reflecting growing awareness and concern among Chinese citizens about pollution, but also a high level of public distrust of the government exposing the leadership's weakness in enforcing the rule of law and its failures in implementing environmental protection laws;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the rapid ageing of the Chinese population poses significant risks to the country's prosperity and social stability; notes that should the declining working-age population no longer be able to support the increasingly older population; welcomes the government's policy measures to tackle the issue (with gradual relaxation of the one-child policy), but notes with concern that these measures have not yet led to a significant rise in the birth rate, mainly for economic reasons; therefore urges the CPC to genuinely address the country's demographic imbalances with less birth regulation and control over the population, and instead rethink and introduce effective family planning policies and incentives that stress education, encourage changes to public attitudes and mentality thus far shaped by decades of propaganda on family-planning and respect the freedom to make personal decisions;
Amendment 303 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. ObservUnderlines that in recent years China's anti-terrorism policy has evolved rapidly from a somewhat reactive ‘defence against terror' approach to a proactive ‘war on terror', along with permanent ‘crisis management' enaddressing current global security challenges China needs a specific comprehensive and transparent counter-terrorism law in line with international standards in order to adequately respond to terrorist threats; however observes that in recent years China's anti-terrorism policy has evolved with increasing surveillance methods introduced to "maintain stabiling action to an unprecedented extent in affected regions and in society; ty" that in fact allow arbitrary applications and abuse and may lead to human rights violations;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Is concerned about the newly drafted law on counter-terrorism in China, published shortly after the Party's proclamation of "comprehensively advancing the rule of law", which may be used to severely restrict the fundamental rights of people in the name of security; calls on China to review the vague language of the draft regarding the definition of terrorism and terrorist activities, which would give excessive discretionary powers to state organs working on counter-terrorism and security forces;
Amendment 335 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Notes that since its launch President Xi Jinping's Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, which foresees a stronger and more pro- active role for China in the world, has been widely perceived outside the PRC as strengthening the power monopoly of the CPC, re-ideologising the party, the state and society and increasing the authority of the party leader; therefore calls for a commensurate EU strategy towards Asia within a transatlantic context; stresses that China's rise as a global power requires a reconsideration of Europe's strategic priorities in its relations with China as a matter of urgency;
Amendment 362 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Take notes of Taiwan's "South China Sea Peace Initiative" with a view of reaching a consensus on a code of conduct and the establishment of a mechanism allowing all sides to cooperate in the joint exploitation of natural and marine resources in the region; supports all actions that enable the South China Sea to become a "Sea of Peace and Cooperation";
Amendment 366 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Urges the Chinese Government to use all its levers of influence to induce North Korea to return to credible denuclearisation talks and to take concrete steps to denuclearise; reminds that China remains North Korea's most important ally, therefore encourages the Chinese government that together with the international community they could play a constructive role in urgently addressing the dire human rights situation in North Korea, including dealing with the thousands of North Korea refugees who cross the border into China fleeing appalling conditions at home; urges the Chinese government that in accordance with its obligations as a state party to the UN Refugee Convention not to deny them their right to seek asylum and not to forcibly return them to North Korea but protect their fundamental human rights;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Reminds that the universality of human rights has always been at the heart of EU-China human rights dialogues; notes with concern that in the official Chinese view universality is questioned on grounds of cultural differences which has been an important source of their conceptual differences leading to lack of understanding and distrust in EU-China relations and which has limited progress in the EU-China human rights dialogues; calls therefore on the Chinese leadership to reconsider how they approach the question and to respect the universality of human rights consistent with the Declaration of Human Rights; urges further that EU institutions work together with the Chinese authorities in their dialogues to advance the respect for universality;
Amendment 414 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Notes that certain commitments were put forward by President Xi Jinping to "comprehensively advance ruling the country according to the law", along with combating corruption; is however deeply concerned about the recent round up of over 200 lawyers, particularly those who focus on human rights cases, accusing many of "disrupting public order" and of seeking to undermine the Party, where the authorities have claimed that such drastic measures are in fact a defence of China's legal system; stresses that these measures contradict the authorities' claim to advance the rule of law and undermine any effort undertaken for political reform;
Amendment 415 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Reminds that in the official Chinese view socio-economic rights continue being prioritized over individual civil and political rights, whereas these rights in European understanding are considered fundamental and equally important and that economic development and human rights go together, reflecting differences in European and Chinese perceptions of human rights visible in official positions; further stresses that a comprehensive protection of human rights is essential for continued economic growth in China and therefore urges the Chinese authorities to ensure the respect of both socio-economic and civil and political rights;
Amendment 423 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Criticises the fact that while in China freedom of religion is not a right, but a matter for the state, which sets the limits of what is permissible nominally guaranteed by the Constitution, in practice the government restricts religious practices to officially approved and recognized religious organizations; supports the resistance of Chinese churches against the government's renewed strategy of ‘sinicisation' of Christianity; condemns, in particular, the ongoing anti-Christian campaign in the province of Zhejiang, during which dozens of churches were demolished and more than 400 crosses removed in 2014; shares the concerns of churches about other provinces where there is a strong Christian presence;
Amendment 450 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Is deeply concerned about the on- going transfer of members of the Han Chinese population into Tibetan inhabited areas as well as about China's large-scale programs to relocate entire Tibetan communities and the majority of the rural population of the Tibet Autonomous Region as well as of nomadic herders in the eastern part of the Tibetan plateau without adequate access to education, health and economic prospect, part of the government's effort to "build a new socialist countryside" in Tibetan areas, radically transforming their traditional way of living and endangering their cultural identity and heritage;
Amendment 460 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Condemns the Chinese government for conducting extensive resource extraction and unsustainable development on the Tibetan plateau as a result of which the plateau's ecosystem and biodiversity are now endangered; urges therefore the Chinese government to allow participation by Tibetan communities in the development process, as indigenous knowledge is indispensable to policies on the sustainable development of the plateau, home to Asia's greatest rivers, that provide water critical to the survival of millions of people downstream; further stresses the urgent need for the Chinese authorities to develop government policies to conserve the environment of the Tibetan plateau with the collaboration of all people who have a stake in the future of Tibet;