Reasonably prompt reply from my MP, but very non-commital:
Dear Mr Williams,
Thank you for your email. I'm concerned by what you write - as you may know, I worked with the Free Tibet society on the Dalai Lama's recent visit. I've not heard that there has in fact been a change of policy, and think it possible that the wording was unintentionally misleading, but all the more reason to clarify it. I'll investigate and report back.
I'm always pleased to find constituents on email, as it helps keep better in touch. I send updates on current issues from time to time to 3000+ constituents. Would you like to be included, if you don't already?
Yours sincxerely
Nick Palmer
A friend of mine received exactly the same reply from his MP
i must write to mine again, and ask hiom if they share a secretary...
Meanwhile, this is the reply received by another friend, from his tory MP:
Dear Mr ....,
Thank you for contacting me about Tibet.
As a party, we have called upon China to exercise restraint in its response to the crisis in Tibet and we welcome the call by the Dalai Lama for Tibetans not to use violence. We believe that the way to resolve political tensions in Tibet is through dialogue between the Chinese authorities and the representatives of the Dalai Lama. In November, the Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister, David Lidington, met with representatives of the Dalai Lama, including his envoy, as well as meeting a senior representative of the Chinese Government to discuss the autonomous status of Tibet and human rights.
The violence in Tibet in March was shocking and unacceptable but we must not forget that issues of religious freedom, freedom of expression and the right to due process and a fair trial before anyone is deprived of liberty, matter in every part of China. For example, leading Chinese dissident and human rights activist, Hu Jia, was jailed in Beijing after giving interviews to foreign media in which he criticised his government’s record on religious freedom, the treatment of AIDS and environmental protection.
China’s political as well as her economic influence in the world is growing. We want to see China exercise her responsibilities as a world power. It is not going to be possible to deal with any major global challenges such as climate change, or the threat of nuclear proliferation without the active partnership of China, and the negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear programme have shown that China can play an important and constructive role. As China becomes a more active player in world events, it is both inevitable and right that her record on human rights, in Tibet and elsewhere, will come under closer scrutiny.
China has signed and promised to ratify the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We should press China to complete ratification without delay. Our Party must continue to speak about human rights in China and to raise both individual cases and general issues of human rights in our contacts with Chinese leaders.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to me.
Best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Oliver Heald
Mr. Heald doesn't offer to challenge Millibastard about it, and pretty much spells out the truth, ihmo.