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President Hu's human rights record has no place in Australia's Parliament

By Brian Harradine - posted Tuesday, 28 October 2003

According to Chinese Government statistics, 230,000 Chinese citizens are incarcerated in re-education-through-labour camps. China has 20 high-security psychiatric hospitals run by the Ministry of Public Security. A number of dissidents are jailed in these hospitals.

The Australian government was not willing to confront the Chinese president on human rights issues. Australia moved to a system of bilateral human rights dialogues in 1997 when China threatened trade sanctions for any countries sponsoring the annual United Nations Commission for Human Rights resolution on China.

These dialogues avoid confronting human rights violators like China with direct and public criticism of their record. The dialogues avoid offending governments.

But I am offended. And so are many Australians who value freedom and loathe government-sanctioned persecution of their own people. We should never have allowed President Hu the honour of addressing our Parliament.