Cook's concern for jailed dissidents

China has told Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, that it cannot identify two of the names on the European Union's list of a dozen jailed dissidents on whom information has been requested. Mr Cook yesterday raised the list over a Peking duck lunch with Wang Yingfan, a vice-foreign minister, but the Chinese side offered no updates.

"I pressed in particular for information on [former student leader Wang Dan] and on two of the other cases on which we received no information when we last tabled this list. I was told that we could receive updated information, although it was put to me that the two where no information had been provided were two where it was difficult to trace them by their name," he said.

China has had the list for some time without informing the EU that it needed more details to trace the two cases. Mr Cook said he would ensure that "more reliable ways of identifying those two" were passed to the Chinese. "I very much hope we will achieve a more satisfactory level of information and understanding about those cases and that we may secure the early release of some of them," he added, but did not give the names of the dissidents in question.

Nor was there any indication that he had any more general substantive response. "I can't say I had any indications on when any of the 12, including Wang Dan, may be released." Mr Wang, 28, is serving an 11-year jail sentence for subversion.

Winding up his 24-hour visit to Peking, Mr Cook hailed the "new life" in Britain's relations with China, while also stressing that he had raised human rights issues in all meetings, including yesterday's with President Jiang Zemin.

He said it was "gratifying for Britain" that China chose his visit to announce that it welcomed a visit by Mary Robinson, the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, and that this "does recognise our interest in human rights and our leading role in it".