Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am particularly pleased to have moved this motion in relation to the situation in Tibet, which is entirely unsatisfactory. My personal view is that the Chinese invasion of Tibet was no more justified than was the German invasion of Poland at the commencement of the Second World War. However, the Chinese now occupy Tibet, and the world has recognised Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. We have a situation where dialogue is going on between the Tibetan authorities and the Chinese authorities.

Five minutes is not really very long—and I have only three minutes left—to talk about the situation in Tibet at the moment and the situation between Tibet and China. I personally believe that the Chinese authorities agreed to this further dialogue only as a way of getting the Beijing Olympics out of the way. The seventh round of the Sino-Tibetan dialogue, held on 1 July, has been described by the Dalai Lama’s special envoy as one of the most difficult sessions held so far. In keeping with their policy of engagement with the Chinese government, and with no other options presenting themselves, the Central Tibetan Administration—that is, the Tibetan government in exile—have agreed tentatively to a further round of dialogue in October. However, the Tibetans are concerned that in the absence of serious and sincere commitment on the Chinese government’s part the continuation of the present dialogue process would serve no purpose. The Tibetans have worked very hard to try to make sure that this process works, and they have indicated that at the next discussions they will attempt to progress negotiations by tabling at the October session a detailed plan for Tibetan autonomy.

It really is important that the Chinese recognise that the world is not prepared to have the human rights of Tibetans overridden roughshod. We have a situation where Tibetans have been murdered. The Chinese are acting like a brutal occupying force and they are simply not recognising that Tibet is a nation. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is saying that he is not seeking independence. Honestly, Tibet historically has been an independent nation, but His Holiness is prepared to work with the Chinese to seek a form of autonomy which would be satisfactory to the Tibetan people and, hopefully, satisfactory to the central Chinese government. But, unfortunately, the Chinese are simply not prepared to play ball.

We have to make it very clear as a world community that we are not prepared to accept this continued prevarication by the Chinese authorities. We cannot accept a situation where Tibetans are murdered. We cannot accept that human rights in Tibet are somehow less valuable than human rights in other parts of the world. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is one of the most incredibly sincere people on earth. He is a person I greatly admire. He is a person who has made concessions to the Chinese authorities that he ought not to have been required to make. He is a person who is seeking the best for his people. We as a nation salute him. I call on the Chinese authorities to bring about real and meaningful change and to bring about sincere negotiation with a view to better outcomes for the oppressed Tibetan people.

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