Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I agree with my colleague, Deputy Moynihan, about the horrible events that continue to unfold in Sudan.

I raise the EU-China summit which will take place next year. While it is important and increasingly the case that we must have free and fair trade around the world, and I know China and the European Union are committed to try to address some of the trading problems globally, I raise again the issue of continuing human rights abuses in China by the Chinese Communist Party. In particular, I raise the case of Tibet and how the Tibetan minority is treated. I would like an assurance in the context of the EU-China summit that human rights will remain on the EU's agenda, that the Irish Government and the EU will raise the question of the succession of the Dalai Lama and that we will reaffirm the position that it is right for those of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition to choose the Dalai Lama's successor and that his successor should not be chosen by the Chinese Communist Party.

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