Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Can the minister confirm that the government has been endeavouring to immediately deport a Chinese man back to the People’s Republic of China, despite the fact that the United Nations Human Rights Committee have requested that deportation not occur until they have completed an investigation into this case? Is it the case that this man is today in a Sydney hospital following a serious attempt at self-harm? Can the minister also confirm if this person’s Australian visa was cancelled as the result of an arrest warrant from Chinese authorities, and is the Australian government absolutely confident that this arrest warrant is genuine? Can the minister indicate if it is true that this Chinese man in question is Christian and has a family from a Christian background? Is the Australian government confident that religious persecution has ceased in China, and that there is no prospect of the man being persecuted if he is returned to that country?