John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—It is possible that the opposition will also be making a statement on the same matter. The government is concerned that this complex policy issue cannot be reduced to a three-paragraph motion. In the motion Senator Brown asked whether comments by the Communist Party secretary in Tibet reflected Chinese government policy. The simple answer to that is that yes, they do, but of course the issue is much more complex than that.

Senators are aware that China sees the question of Tibet as an issue of national and political survival. It considers the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile as separatists bent on undermining the central government’s sovereignty. It does not recognise the issue as one of ethnicity, religion or human rights. I think senators are also aware of the Tibetan grievances which go to restrictions on Tibetans’ religious, civil and political rights, adequate protection of their cultural and environmental heritage and ongoing patriotic re-education, which requires the denunciation of the Dalai Lama. They also have grievances about the lack of access to some of the economic benefits flowing from increased investment in Tibetan areas.

That is that background, but I want to just briefly turn to the issues raised in the motion—the situation on the ground and the status of the detainees. I do this to explain why the government has voted as it has on this particular motion because, as I have said so many times, these motions on foreign policy are a blunt instrument. I have expressed, over many years—and I think all senators know this—my concerns about this manner of dealing with such motions and I do not want, in any way, the view of the government to be misinterpreted in relation to this particular motion. The hard reality is that we do not have a good picture of what has happened since March and what is happening on the ground now. That is why we have urged China to allow access to Tibet for independent observers, journalists and diplomats, including our own ambassador. We have signalled our concerns about reports of ongoing detentions of monks and nuns, lack of access to judicial process and ongoing patriotic re-education. It is difficult to provide a clear picture of the numbers of detainees. We have heard from the official Chinese media that 30 people were found guilty and sentenced in April on charges including arson, robbery and attacks against the state in relation to the unrest in March. A further 12 were sentenced this week on similar charges—116 remain in custody awaiting trial and 1,157 have been arrested. I can say to the Senate that we have instructed our mission in Beijing to seek clarification of these numbers, though we expect the results to be very similar to those carried by the official Chinese press.

In conclusion, Australia has a strong record of raising human rights concerns, including in Tibet. The Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs are both on record raising these issues with the highest levels of the Chinese government. We engage China through our human rights dialogue and on an ongoing basis through diplomatic channels in Beijing and Canberra, most recently on 11 June in Canberra, and in Beijing on 12 June. As I have said, we have signalled our strong support for the continuation of talks between China’s government and the Dalai Lama’s representatives. In communicating our position, we recognise the importance of keeping our channels of communication open with the government in China while, at the same time, delivering a very clear message about our concerns in relation to these issues. I thank the Senate for the leave to make this statement.