Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

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The member's speech in Chinese was unavailable at the time of publishing.

Deputy Speaker and others, I just mentioned that my name is Vince. I said good morning and that I speak a little Chinese but my wife speaks Chinese very well. I also mentioned that my wife, Peta, spent a year living in Hangzhou and going to university there. Peta, as a little girl, was fascinated by stories that her great aunt would share with her about her travels around that ancient country some decades ago. That inspired Peta to study Chinese language, history and culture throughout primary school and into high school, and then she undertook a Bachelor of Asian Studies, majoring in Chinese at university, including a year in Hangzhou. Some of that fascination with Chinese culture really rubbed off on me, and, together we've spent some time in China, both in Hangzhou and also in Beijing, Shanghai and a number of other places. It's been wonderful to see China firsthand, meet some of the people and experience that culture. That's why it's also really important that we continue to do what we are doing and distinguish between Chinese people—those who now call Australia home and the Chinese Communist Party, who are the government in the People's Republic of China.

Australia and Australians operate on some pretty simple principles. We absolutely believe in a fair go and in respect for our fellow country men and women. We respect the rule of law and, at the same time, we uphold absolutely the right, individually, to freedom. Against this, we must sadly juxtapose the treatment of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang province in north-west China. Australia remains deeply concerned by reports of forced disappearances, mass detention, forced labour, pervasive surveillance of Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, and restrictions on freedom of religion and belief in China. Recent reports of systematic torture and abuse of women are, of course, deeply disturbing. We urge China to act consistently with its human rights obligations.

It is morally right that we use our voices. I thank the member for Menzies and others in this place for, along with me, joining in and using our voices to absolutely object to these egregious human rights abuses. Access to the region continues to be restricted, making it difficult for Australia and other concerned nations to see what's happening on the ground for ourselves. But by bringing forward and debating this motion today in our federal parliament we are contributing to greater transparency as we continue to urge China to allow international observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to be given immediate and unfettered access to Xinjiang. We will work closely with our key partners, including the UK and others, to advocate for this transparency and accountability. It is critical that China immediately facilitates these visits and ensures transparency and independence.

The government has clearly conveyed the Australian government's concerns about the situation in Xinjiang to China. This includes through Minister Payne's last three meetings with her Chinese counterpart, state councillor Wang Yi. Australia will continue to raise our objections and call for independent investigations both here in Australia and with Beijing.

Whilst the Chinese government continues to systematically breach the human rights of its own citizens, it greatly weakens its moral authority to engage as a respected global citizen. Through this motion, we record our abhorrence at these abuses of our fellow humans. We urge the UN to investigate these breaches of human rights and we commit to continuing our calls for the Chinese government to end these abuses. I call on the Chinese government to demonstrate respect for its own rich cultural history and to move back to a path of peaceful and prosperous engagement at home and, in this way, to also regain the moral authority to engage and to prosper globally.

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