Ireland rightly places human rights and the rule of law at the heart of our foreign policy. It is evident in how we have stood resolutely with Ukraine since Russia’s illegal invasion and where we have called out the horrors of the ongoing attacks of the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza and the West Bank.
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Taoiseach Micheál Martin is in Beijing to engage with leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on how we can deepen co-operation between Ireland and the world’s second most populous country.
Much of the discussion will be on furthering already strong trade links. Ireland and China do about €37bn in trade each year; China is our largest trading partner in Asia.
Ireland is committed to multilateralism and global co-operation and rightly sees free and fair trade as essential to improving living standards.
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However, in this era where autocracy is on the rise and respect for human dignity is under threat, we cannot shy away from ensuring that the Chinese authorities are very aware of our concerns around the deteriorating human rights situation in that country.
In August 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published a detailed report outlining “serious human rights violations” by the Chinese authorities against the Uyghur people and other Muslim communities, including arbitrary detention, torture, sexual violence and coercive reproductive policies.
The evidence of forced labour camps in the Xinjiang region was again highlighted in the recent excellent work of Joe Galvin and the RTÉ Investigates team.
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The Tibet region of China is ranked by the global think-tank Freedom House as the least free in the world.
The Tibetan people and their culture have been singled out by the CCP and education in the Tibetan language continues to be repressed.
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In Hong Kong, it is now five years since the so-called National Security Law came into force. This in effect removes any remaining autonomy for Hong Kong. Almost 90pc of those charged with offences are refused bail and there are long periods of pre-trial detention.
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Perhaps the most prominent case is that of Jimmy Lai, a businessman and founder of the Apple Daily newspaper. He has been held in prison for five years for supporting the pro-democracy movement. His international legal team is led by Irish human rights lawyer Caoilfhoinn Gallagher, who has experienced numerous threats as a result of representing him.
Detention without charge is common in China. It should be recalled that Richard O’Halloran, an Irish citizen, was held in this manner for three years, from 2019 to 2022, away from his family, because Chinese authorities wanted to use him as a pawn in an aircraft leasing dispute.
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