THE Chinese ambassador is to be asked again to come before the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee to answer questions on the treatment of orphans in China, the recent imprisonment of a dissident and the country policy towards Tibet and Taiwan.
Committee members yesterday expressed shock and outrage at the treatment of children in orphanages there, as shown in the recent Channel 4 documentary, Return to the Dying Rooms.
They dismissed the Chinese response to the allegations so far as "a charade" and "a joke" and said the ambassador, Ms Fan Huijan, should be asked to attend as soon as possible to answer questions. The committee chairman, Mr Alan Dukes TD (Fine Gael), said she had been invited to yesterday's meeting but had been unable to attend due to illness.
Mr Jim O'Keeffe TD (FG) said he would also like to raise with the ambassador the recent imprisonment for 14 years of the dissident Mr Wei Jingsheng.
"This man's alleged criminal activity is a joke," he said. Mr Wei was in jail for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government. His activities, according to the Chinese, were raising money for a pro democracy movement, buying certain newspapers and organising a non governmental painting exhibition.
The committee agreed to adopt a series of recommendations from Amnesty International as its policy on the treatment of orphans in China. These say that China must show that the abuses in orphanages are not part of official policy; that legislative protection for children is effective; that there should be a thorough, impartial investigation of all allegations and punishment of perpetrators; and that independent observers should be allowed in to assess the treatment of children in orphanages.
Mr Desmond O'Malley TD (PD) said the orphanages showed "an extraordinary and unacceptable mentality", but the treatment of dissidents, the situation in Tibet, the forthcoming takeover of Hong Kong and Macao and China's attitude to Taiwan were also issues that should be raised with the ambassador.