26 Amendments of María MUÑIZ DE URQUIZA related to 2012/2137(INI)
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the EU-China strategic partnership is of great importance for relations between the EU and China, and this relationship is paramount for finding answers to global concerns, such as global security, nuclear non-proliferation and climate change, climate change, the economic and social development of a market economy and the promotion of democracy and human rights;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the shocking news of mid-June 2012 regarding the extremely cruel forced abortion of the unborn daughter of the seven-month-pregnant Feng Jianmei fuelled the debate on the abolition ofre is increasing debate about the forced and selective abortions resulting from the official one-child policy;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas China emphasises social human rights (e.g., food, clothes, economic development), while the EU stresses individual human rights (e.g., freedom of speech, religion, association)human rights are universal and indivisible;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas China is a country that is passionate about the internet, withInternet use has spread in China, and there are now more than 500 million users;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas China maintains close relations with North Korea, graphically described by Mao Zedong as being ‘as close as lips and teeth’;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas the relations between China and the USA are the world’s most important bilateral ties, in particular owing to the phenomenon of ‘Chinamerica’, or the strong financial- economic entanglement of Beijing and WashingtonChina and the USA are economically and financially highly interdependent;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas nowhere in the world is China’s explosive growth more visible than economic and trade relations between China, Africa and Latin Afmerica, as illustrated by the impressive rise of have increased exponentially, with 80 % and 51 % increases in China’'s mutual trade volume by 80% to USD 166.3 billion between 2009 and 2011, according to Chinese statisticsvolume of trade with Africa and Latin America respectively;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Joins with the public commitment made by the EU and China during their High- Level Strategic Dialogue of 9-10 July 2012 in Beijing to set a good example of international cooperation in the 21st century through their Strategic Partnership; supports and encourages the almost sixty sectoral dialogues between the EU and China with the conviction that an enhanced and highly developed partnership will be mutually beneficial to both the EU and China; calls for increased trade and economic relations with China to go hand in hand with considerable progress in the political dialogue on human rights and the rule of law;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 l (new)
Paragraph 1 l (new)
1l. Calls for progress in the various sectoral dialogues to be verified in accordance with the principles of conditionality and 'more for more', ahead of the signing of an EU-China Association Agreement;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Expresses its concern at growing inequalities and the unfair distribution of wealth; calls for equitable development underpinned by a social market economy;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Underlines that although forced abortions are strictly illegal in China, family-planning officials repeatedly coerce women into abortions or sterilisation; condemns the so-called ‘social maintenance fee’, an often exorbitant fine that parents have to pay in the event of extra births, as was the case in the tragedy of Feng Jianmei; wholeheartedly supports Chinese voices that call for an end of the one-child policy; urges that women should be free to take a decision to have an abortion, and that a wide range of safe, effective and acceptable family planning methods should be made available, so that any form of coercion is ruled out, in accordance with the sexual health and reproductive rights recognised under international law;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Admires the courage and the social responsibility of numerous Chinese citizens for defending precious social rights in their country, but denounces the tragic state of affairs whereby several of them are being officially persecuted and punished for their efforts to correct well-known social dangers/criminal acts such as corruption, abuse of office, environmental damage, AIDS infection, food poisoning, construction fraud concerning schools, illegal land and property expropriation, often committed by local party authorities; urges the Chinese leadership to encourage civil responsibility for observing social human rights and to rehabilitate officially persecuted and punished defenders of these rights, such as artist and dissident Ai Weiwei; also expects a responsible Chinese leadership to comply strictly with individual and social human rights;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes that the Chinese Government is tightening its surveillance of the internet by way of a new law that forbids betrayal of state secrets, harming of national pride, endangering the ethnic unity of the country or making calls for ‘illegal protests’ or ‘mass meetings’; criticises the fact that these prohibitions are rather obscurely formulated and thus clear the way for unbridled censorship; recalls that the right to freedom of expression on the Internet has been recognised recently by the UN Human Rights Council;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recognises the enormous efforts made by the Chinese Government to develop Tibet and Xinjiang economically; urges the Chinese Government to act in a politically responsible way by respecting and protecting Tibetan and Uighur traditional cultures and lifestyles; believes that Beijing cannot win the hearts and minds of the Tibetan and Uighur peoples by way of millions of surveillance cameras or repressive police methods;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that, notwithstanding a harsh policy of repression, a religious revival is taking place in China which is demonstrated by the reopening or reconstruction of countless places of worship; urges the Chinese authorities to replace their ineffective policy of controlling religion with one offering real freedom of religion;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the PRC to use its regained global position in a responsible way, by helping to establish a system of global economic governance, and acting in according to its own criteria of ‘peaceful development’ and ‘a harmonious world’ance with its commitment to peace and the principles of the United Nations;
Amendment 294 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Underlines the global importance of the South China Sea, through which one-third of the world’s trade passes, and therefore urgently appeals to all involved parties to settle their conflicting territorial claims in the South China Sea by international arbitration and to refrain from unilateral political, economic and military actions;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 16 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Reiterates its call for China, as a member of the UN Security Council, to fulfil its responsibility to put an end to the violence and repression against the Syrian people, and to ensure compliance with UNSC resolutions 2042 and 2043;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Observes that the new American strategy of ‘rebalance’ or ‘pivot’ towards Asia is perceived as a threat by the Chinese leadership; encourages China and the USA to avoid tensions and an arms race in the Pacific; urges China to honour America’s vital interest in ensuringe freedom of circulation on the seas, in accordance with international law;
Amendment 316 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – introductory part
Paragraph 18 – introductory part
18. Appreciates the Chinese leadership’s acknowledgement of the serious criticism of its imbalanced, raw-material-centred African policy during the Forum of Chinese-African Cooperation (FOCAC), held on 20 July 2012 in Beijing, which is shown by its current open promotion of a diversification of its activities on the continent; points to the obvious ethical and strategic flaws of China’s non- intervention principle in Africa’s domestic policies in cases of popular resistance against repressive regimes (e.g., Sudan), or in cases of regime change (e.g., Libya); notes that the increasing Chinese presence in Africa has led to grave social tensions, but welcomes the fact that Chinese companies have expressed their willingness to place greater emphasis on social responsibility in their African activities; takes note of China's increasing involvement in the exploitation of natural resources in Latin America, with Chinese imports of such resources having increased by more than 50 %;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 18 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Regrets the insufficient protection of intellectual property rights in China, and the lack of specific resources enabling European companies to combat intellectual property violations effectively; urges China to bring its national legislation into line with current international law relating to the protection of intellectual property rights and, in particular, to the fight against counterfeiting and piracy;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 19 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Expresses its concern at the difficulties experienced by foreign companies in gaining access to Chinese public procurement markets and at the distortions of free competition, in particular the hidden State subsidies paid to Chinese companies;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 – point 1 (new)
Paragraph 19 – point 1 (new)
(1) Urges that China make it an absolute priority to ensure legal certainty for foreign companies, by upholding the principles of equality, reciprocity and corporate social responsibility;