Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of the urgency motion, and I commend Senator Fawcett and Senator O'Neill for moving it. It is unquestionable that there has been a concerted attempt by the Chinese government and, unfortunately, by some here in the Australian community to make incorrect claims about the sovereignty of Taiwan and the position of both the United Nations and Australia in regard to Taiwan. This is an urgent matter because it is of great concern for peace and security in our region.

As this urgency motion makes clear, the United Nations resolution 2758 does not establish the People's Republic of China's sovereignty over Taiwan, nor does it determine Taiwanese participation in international organisations. In regard to Australia's policy, the Australian position is not that we agree with the PRC's One China principle. Australia's policy is that we acknowledge that the Chinese government holds a particular position regarding Taiwan, not that we endorse that position. That is a significant distinction, and it's important that Australia's position over such a critical issue is not misrepresented in our country either inadvertently or deliberately. It matters because the Chinese government has made repeated public statements about what it refers to as 'reunification of Taiwan' and has specifically stated that it does not rule out any measures, including military force, to achieve that aim. The Chinese government has, on a repeated basis, conducted military exercises practising encirclement of Taiwan and regularly sends fighter jets into Taiwan's air defence zone.

Nobody in Australia wants to see conflict in our region, but we have to be clear-eyed about the Chinese government's stated intentions and their aggressive and dangerous behaviour. The justification that the Chinese government puts forward for the threat of using force to take over governance of Taiwan is its claim that Taiwan is part of China and must be recognised as such. When people in Australia repeat that claim, what they are doing is supporting a justification being put forward for the use of military force by the Chinese government, and that is why it is so egregious for a former Australian prime minister, Mr Paul Keating, to label Taiwan 'Chinese real estate', as he did in a recent interview.

Mr Keating falsely claims that the whole world recognises China and Taiwan as one country. This is false, and it is not simply a matter of a private citizen expressing a view, as some claim. As a former prime minister, the Australian taxpayer pays for Mr Keating to maintain an office. I think there are questions to be asked about why Australians should pay to support private office for a former official who consistently pushes a false narrative about Australia's policy, especially when that false narrative aligns with that being pushed by foreign regimes such as the Chinese Communist Party.