UK Member of Parliament: "Human rights violations are widespread in the People's Republic of China."

Greg Pope MP for Hyndburn made the following speech on Thursday 11th October in the UK House of Commons.

I shall address three issues, the first of which is human rights in China. I have raised this issue before and make no apology for raising it again, because the People's Republic of China has the unenviable record of being the world's No. 1 human rights abuser. In terms of judicial executions, as far as we can tell, it executes more people than the rest of the world put together, but it is difficult to come to a definitive figure on how many people have been executed. The last time I researched it, we came up with the figure that 10,000 people had been executed in a single year in China, but it is difficult to know because, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Streatham demonstrated, many of them take place in extraordinary situations and in great secrecy.

The lack of transparency in the judicial process is a main concern. Torture is widespread and an instrument of state policy. The judiciary is not independent. Re-education through labour is commonplace. Prisoners are treated badly and, as we have heard, the harvesting of prisoners' organs is all too prevalent. Human rights violations are widespread in the People's Republic of China.