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14. Both sides agreed that the moment was not yet right to ease the remaining measures imposed after Tiananmen. However,
there was room for a more substantial common EC policy on China. Dr Zeller endorsed the UK idea of an EC/China
conference involving both government and private sector participants. He agreed that the Commission rather than the
Presidency should be asked to coordinate and fund it, but
stressed the need for individual country involvement in
mobilising private sector support.
China: Human Rights
The
15. There was a shared perception that the Chinese were
becoming more adept at handling human rights missions, provided
they did not go explicitly under that name. A German
Parliamentary delegation would visit China in May, nominally to
discuss UN issues but in fact to examine human rights.
China/Germany Legal Association was also planning a Human Rights Seminar in Germany. It would be non-governmental, with
Chinese participation from the Academy of Social Sciences.
Mr Davies mentioned the Dalai Lama's forthcoming visit to the
UK and the expectation that this would generate considerable public protest over Tibet.
Taiwan
16. The two sides exchanged notes over the nature of their representation in Taipei (by the Association of Chambers of Commerce in the German case). Small developments in relations
with Taiwan, eg Ministerial visits, had provoked Chinese reproaches in both capitals but nothing further.
ECcooptalks2004
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