RESTRICTED
some could not be found".
The Chinese gave US Secretary of State James Baker a more detailed response to a much longer American list of several hundred names, indicating which individuals had been sentenced, released, never arrested, not subject to judicial action
or were not known.
3. When Mr Gummer visited China in October he spoke to Wu Xieqi an about his concern over the detention of religious believers, and agreed that a list of Roman Catholic priests/bishops of concern should be forwarded to his Chinese opposite number. The Ambassador
will now pass his letter and list to Liu Zhongyi, the Chinese
Agricultural Minister. It is for consideration whether a side copy should also be passed to Tian Zengpei; HMA has doubts about this,
which will need to be discussed on arrival.
4.
On 1 November China published a White Paper on Human Rights. The paper itself is superficial and fails to address foreign
concerns, but it does provide a useful starting point for
discussion. We should use it to show the Chinese that we are
willing to consider their point of view as a basis for dialogue. The White Paper rehearses the familiar Chinese position that comment
on human rights constitutes interference in a country's internal
affairs, (although China has in the past argued that interference is justified in certain circumstances such as genocide and apartheid). ;, This view is not generally accepted in the UN and the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting in Harare also indicated that other
developing countries are ready to accept (some reluctantly) that
human rights are a legitimate concern of the international Community.
5.
•
The White Paper speaks positively of the International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Chinese support
for the principles enshrined in it. China has not acceded to the
ICCPR although in 1988 she expressed an intention to do so. The
events of June 1989 intervened, but press rumours in 1991 suggested
that China was again considering the question (in the context of the
renewal of most favoured nation (MFN) status). This is important
for the UK as it could help with respect to Hong Kong after 1997.
The Head of UND asked about China's attitude in Peking in June. The
RESTRICTED