The Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Predrag Markovic, today (29 June 2005) met a delegation of the State Ethic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China, headed by the Deputy Minister in Charge, Chou Mingpu.
The Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Predrag Markovic, today (29 June 2005) met a delegation of the State Ethic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China, headed by the Deputy Minister in Charge, Chou Mingpu.
Mr Chou stressed the importance of friendly relations between the People’s Republic of China and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, underlining especially China’s position regarding the solving of the status of Kosovo and Metohia in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. He said that 56 different ethic groups lived in China; 55 of those had national minority status. According to Mr Chou, this visit to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro was of great importance for acquiring experience in the field of protecting national minority rights.
Mr Markovic informed Mr Chou of Serbia’s experiences, acquired over the past several years, in the field of protecting national minority rights and the creation of conditions for their institutionalisation through National Councils. He underlined that Serbia abolished electoral census for national minority political parties as a mechanism for protecting national minority rights, thereby ensuring the presence of minority representatives in institutions. He said that it was the task of a state to create the necessary preconditions for preserving national identity of members of all national communities living in it, as well as to enable the exercise of their rights in accordance with standards of democratic society.
Mr Chou invited the Chairman of the National Assembly to visit the People’s Republic of China in the near future.
The meeting between the Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the Deputy Minister in Charge of the State Ethic Affairs Commission of the People’s Republic of China was attended by officials of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China to Serbia and Montenegro, as well as by Stanislav Stakic, head of the Asia-Pacific Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia and Montenegro.
