The Baroness in Beijing

The European Union informs the public about Baroness Ashton´s visit to Beijing:

The Baroness and Wen Jiabao enjoying a nice cup of tea 

EUROPEAN UNION
Beijing, 10 July 2012 
A 321/12 


High Representative Catherine Ashton met 
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China 


Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security 
Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, met the Prime Minister of People's Republic of 
China, Wen Jiabao, in Beijing today. In their discussion they expressed satisfaction with the 
positive momentum in the EU-China comprehensive strategic partnership and with the significant 
progress achieved in many areas of cooperation over the last decade. They looked forward to the 
15th EU-China Summit, scheduled to take place in the autumn; it will be the 10th Premier Wen will 
attend. The High Representative thanked Premier Wen for China's strong and consistent support for 
Europe and its economy. 


Maybe this was what the "High Representative" meant when she talked about the "positive momentum in the EU-China comprehensive strategic partnership"?:

Torture, organ harvesting from live prisoners of consience, long prison terms, harrassment, Internet censorship - these are just a few of the human rights violations discussed at a hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels last week. 

Overseas dissident Su Yutong, who now works as a journalist for Deutche Welle, was one of the guest speakers. She told an audience of over 100 people the story of her exile and described the suffering human rights lawyers, journalists, and petitioners undergo at the hands of the Chinese communist regime. 

Members of the European Parliament, EU officials, human rights activists and dissidents attended the hearing.

The day before the hearing, Su spoke with blind lawyer-activist Chen Guancheng on the phone. 

[Su Yutong, Human Rights Activist]:

"Because I talked to him after he (Chen Guangcheng) arrived in the U.S., he told me just this one thing: please believe me, even though I'm abroad, I will not be cut off from China, I will still do whatever I can from here."

Sakharov Prize winner Wei Jingsheng expressed his concerns about the worsening situation of human rights in China through a video message.

[Wei Jingsheng, Sakharov Prize winner]:

"Nowadays the human rights situation in China is in the most dangerous phase. Judicial authorities have been transformed into mafia, which will definitely make the whole society rapidly enter the time of Nazi Fascists or that of the Culture Revolution."