family members of former and present party leaders who possess enormous fortunes owing to their political and economic connections, a grave situation which was recently laid bare by the Bo Xilai affair; 14. Looks forward to the speedy implementation of the repeated calls for democratisation and political reforms inside the CCP by the new party leadership; believes that only effective political reforms aimed at shaping inclusive, democratic and accountable institutions that reflect China’s ethnic, religious, political and social diversity will pave the way for building sustainable growth and stability and curb the semi-independence of high-handed provincial, district and local party bosses, who badly damage the reputation of China’s national leadership both internally and externally through their abuses of power, with particular reference to the very costly and endemic cases of corruption; considers that such cases should be tackled through the introduction of accountability mechanisms, as acknowledged by Chairman Hu Jintao during the 18th CCP Congress of November 2012; 15. Shares and supports the vehement rejection by Chinese lawyers of a compulsory oath of allegiance to the CCP on the grounds that it is an attack on the legal system which blatantly disregards international legal standards, because any lawyer should swear allegiance to the constitution and not to a political party or organisation; 16. Emphasises that, although forced abortions are strictly illegal in China, family-planning officials repeatedly coerce women into inhumane practices such as forced 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; points out that official statistics show that in 2011 there were 8 400 complaints from victims about misconduct by family-planning authorities; wholeheartedly supports Chinese voices calling for an end to the one-child policy, with its many loopholes, particularly in the light of demographic trends in China, while stressing its severe negative social and psychological consequences such as social disparities, a worsening gender equality situation, widespread negative feeling about the birth of a female child and the stillgrowing imbalance between baby boys and girls, which is creating ‘little emperors’, disrupting the traditional family structure and, moreover, reducing the intake of young people in the labour market; calls on the Chinese leadership to consider it a top priority to find a solution to this problem; 17. Takes serious account of the vigorous protests by workers at the Foxconn plant and demands that workers’ rights be respected; supports the pursuit of decent pay and decent working conditions; 18. Welcomes China’s efforts to establish a nationwide emissions trading system by 2015, which could in the future be integrated with other carbon trading systems, in particular the EU’s Emissions Trading System; notes, however, that China does not yet have a fully-functioning, mature market economy, which is a clear prerequisite for a well-functioning emissions trading system; 19. Urges the Chinese Government to step up the measuring of pollutants and emissions in order to overcome the lack of reliable carbon emission data, to establish a better legal infrastructure and to increase capacity-building at an administrative level; welcomes, in this connection, the financing agreement of 20 September 2012 between the EU and China, which promotes the environment, the transition towards a low-carbon economy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in China;