Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Individual liberty is a fundamental principle that unites us all, and it is what, in liberal democracies, we fight and die for. We must never, ever allow the deprivation of the liberty of any human being. But that is exactly what is happening today in China, where up to six million people are enslaved and trafficked into all forms of slavery. Many more are detained in state sponsored so-called internment camps and boarding schools. Every single person subject to state sponsored internment and enslavement is a human being with their own aspirations and their life. They're loved, and they love others.

Let me share with you the story of one such detained person. Dr Gulshan Abbas, a Uyghur retired medical doctor, went missing five years ago on 5 September 2018. Dr Abbas was detained by Chinese authorities on so-called terrorism charges. She is one of thousands of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities and, increasingly, Tibetans who have disappeared after being accused by the Chinese government of terrorism and extremist crimes. But Dr Abbas's real crime was being the sister of my friend Rushan Abbas, the founder of the Washington based Campaign for Uyghurs, who is one of the bravest women I know—and let me tell you: I know many brave women. Dr Abbas's arrest came shortly after Rushan spoke at the Hudson Institute on Uyghur genocide. It is clearly coercion designed to silence dissent. I remind us all here today that we must always make it clear that we will fight for anybody who is subject to the deprivation of liberty.