Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A letter has been received from Senators Sharma and O'Neill:

Pursuant to standing order 75, we propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:

"Hong Kong's widespread application of national security laws to repress civil society and prosecute journalists, including Mr Jimmy Lai."

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

Dave Sharma (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unfortunately and alarmingly, the issue of public importance we are discussing today, Hong Kong's widespread application of national security laws to repress civil society, has just taken on a new level of urgency and crisis. Earlier today, a court in Hong Kong sentenced 45 former politicians and activists to up to 10 years in prison in the biggest prosecution brought under Hong Kong's national security laws to date. The alleged crime of these individuals was to participate in an unofficial primary election for opposition candidates for the Hong Kong legislature. This is normal political activity, but, somehow, participating in this most basic democratic exercise was labelled by authorities as a conspiracy to commit subversion. An Australian, Gordon Ng, was one of those sentenced, and we feel for him and his family.

Let me be absolutely clear. This is part of an ongoing and relentless assault by authorities in Beijing and their local enablers against fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong. It is designed to silence criticism, stifle dissent and enforce obedience. It's a complete repudiation of the rights enshrined in Hong Kong's Basic Law.

Tomorrow I fear we will see yet another of the remaining embers of Hong Kong's freedoms stamped out because Jimmy Lai's trial on national security charges is due to recommence. Jimmy Lai is a journalist, publisher, writer and pro-democracy campaigner. He was the founder of Apple Daily, one of Hong Kong's most popular newspapers and the largest independent Chinese-language media outlet in the region, until authorities forced it to close in 2021. Mr Lai was first arrested in August 2020 and has been detained in prison since December 2020, in solitary confinement for much of that time.

His current trial is for alleged 'sedition' and 'conspiracy to collude with foreign forces'—and I put that in quotation marks. But, as the prosecution case makes abundantly clear, Mr Lai is being charged for practising journalism, for holding political authorities to account, for scrutinising their conduct and for raising concerns about the respective authorities for fundamental human rights. As the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found, Mr Lai is being unlawfully and arbitrarily detained. This same working group also found that Mr Lai's ongoing detention and imprisonment is a violation of his rights to freedom of expression, to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, his right to a fair trial and to freedom from arbitrary detention. As the group concluded, Mr Lai's ongoing imprisonment is unjust, and he should be released immediately and have his trial discontinued.

I add my voice to those calls today: Mr Lai should be immediately and unconditionally released. I also urge those four Australian judges—Patrick Keane, Robert French, William Gummow and James Allsop—to urgently reconsider their roles as non-permanent judges on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and to reflect on how their continued service on this court confers a legitimacy on Hong Kong's respect for the rule of law which is, clearly, unwarranted.

I know that many Australians who have visited and grown to admire and love Hong Kong over the years—myself amongst them—for its vibrancy, its energy and its entrepreneurialism and, most particularly, its liberal institutions and freedoms, are distressed by the path that Hong Kong is taking. It is a tragedy for many of Hong Kong's residents but it's also a tragedy for Hong Kong itself. With its hasty and unchecked abandonment of its freedoms and its commitment to the rule of law, it is quickly turning itself into a backwater city of mainland China.

I urge Hong Kong authorities to correct course and I urge the government in Beijing to recognise that the preservation of Hong Kong's essential freedoms is in its own national interests. This should begin with the cessation of prosecutions under the national security law and the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Lai and the 45 political prisoners that were sentenced just today.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Democracy and the rule of law are precious elements that enable and preserve the form of government that we Australians and all citizens of free nations hold dear. It's this commitment to fundamental freedoms that has driven me today to join with my colleague Senator Sharma in calling out Hong Kong's widespread application of the national security laws to repress civil society and prosecute journalists, including Jimmy Lai, as a matter of public importance. Today, concerningly, we have reports—indeed, from Hong Kong—that dozens of prominent pro-democracy activists will be jailed for up to a decade in the territory's biggest ever national security case, including an Australian citizen, Mr Gordon Ng.

Hong Kong possesses a long and complex political history with varying forms of governance and authority. But, within that experience, a yearning has developed for self-rule and an expectation that all will be treated fairly. At one point not so very long ago, Hong Kong represented a robust civil society that contained respect for a variety of opinions, faiths, languages, persuasions and political perspectives. In 2002, when the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders launched, Hong Kong ranked 18th in the world. Now it sits at 135th out of 180 jurisdictions. Hong Kong's once lively press that epitomised its active civil discourse has since been muzzled by two national security laws and a revival of a colonial-era charge of sedition. I call out these developments with regret and with a particular fear that this intense deterrence has created a culture of self-censorship and appeasement.

On 3 July this year, I met with Sebastian Lai, who shared with me and others in this place his fear, sadness and hope for his father, Jimmy Lai. Jimmy Lai is currently being held in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison on spurious charges. His story started when he stowed away on a boat to safety in Hong Kong and began an entrepreneurial career in the fashion industry, before founding the pro-democracy publication Apple Daily. Apple Daily is a seemingly unlikely vestige of defiance. While it used to sit in the newsstands alongside other, more refined, publications, its tabloid-infused criticism of the government stood alone in the world in the end. After being raided by no fewer than 200 representatives of the state and forcibly shut down in June 2021, its final edition reached a record circulation of one million copies—10 times the amount usually sold. The final issue's popularity offered a tacit protest against the growing authoritarianism dominating the region and a sombre reminder of the Hong Kong that once was.

Jimmy Lai has been a leading figure in the pro-democracy movement, and an advocate for peaceful assembly and the right to expression. Because of his courage, Jimmy Lai was first arrested in August 2020, and he has since been continuously detained in custody since December of that year. He is also currently having his rights denied as a Catholic. As a fellow Catholic, I note he is being denied the sacrament of Holy Communion. He's accused of communicating with foreign forces—foreign forces such as Australia and Europe—in advocating for the suspension of extradition treaties and calling out human rights abuses, acts that many others would simply refer to as journalism. Jimmy Lai is now looking at being wrongfully detained and sentenced to prison for the rest of his life. I think it is appropriate for this parliament to join with the United Nations, the United Kingdom and the US in calling for the repeal of the national security law and for Mr Lai to be reunited with his family.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Friday 15 November published its opinion that Jimmy Lai is being unlawfully and arbitrarily detained. The rule of law, media freedom and human rights is being eroded and undermined in Hong Kong. The world is watching.

Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Jimmy Lai has been held in maximum solitary confinement in a security prison in Hong Kong for almost four years. This is inhumane: He is being tried on trumped-up charges arising from his peaceful promotion of democracy, his journalism and his human rights advocacy. His trial, like so many in Hong Kong since the passage of the authoritarian national security law, lacked procedural and judicial fairness, with hand-picked judges and evidence obtained via torture. The Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have repeatedly delayed his trial, compromising his right to a speedy trial. His release has been called for by the UK government, by the US government, by the Canadian parliament, by the European Parliament and by five UN special rapporteurs, and today many in this place join that call. We are united in our call that Mr Lai may return home to the UK before it is too late. These calls are supported by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which on Friday 15 November published its opinion that Jimmy Lai is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained and called for his immediate release. The working group found multiple violations of Mr Lai's rights and freedoms and stressed that he should not be on trial at all.

The world is watching as the rule of law, media freedom and human rights in Hong Kong are eroded and undermined. We must work together to uphold these fundamental freedoms and demand that Jimmy Lai be released and immediately and unconditionally allowed to return home. We are seeing a global trend to silence journalists and those speaking truth to power. We must work together to call out for those wrongfully and arbitrarily detained wherever they are and whichever group or government is holding them. Today, the Australian Greens add our voices to the calls for the release of Jimmy Lai, just as we did with Julian Assange and Cheng Lei and just as we do with Robert Pether in Iraq and with Daniel Duggan, who is wrongfully detained here in Australia.

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

I'm pleased to speak in support of this matter of public importance along with colleagues from across the chamber. The erosion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong is of huge concern, and we see that concern playing out today with reports of an Australian citizen and democracy campaigner being sentenced to seven years in prison by a Hong Kong court. The application by Beijing of the national security law in 2020 has seriously eroded the rights of citizens, protesters and the press in Hong Kong.

Jimmy Lai is one of many Hongkongers who have been paying the price for the dismantling of proper legal process and the rule of law since the implementation of that national security law. Mr Lai's case has been independently verified by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention as being a case of unlawful and arbitrary detention. He's been detained and held in solitary confinement since December 2020, soon after the implementation of the national security law. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has stated that evidence from a key prosecution witness may have also been obtained through torture. Mr Lai has already been prosecuted and sentenced to lengthy terms of imprisonment for peaceful participation in pro-democracy protests. We must remember that the people of Hong Kong were promised the protection of democratic rights and freedoms when the handover of Hong Kong from the British to the Chinese government occurred. It is without question that these rights have not been protected but indeed have been severely undermined by Beijing's actions. Mr Lai should not be in prison. He should be released immediately and unconditionally.

The transnational application of the national security law puts Australians at risk, and we have already seen evidence of this. It is unacceptable to us as Australians that our citizens and residents can be targeted for arrest and conviction under the national security law for exercising their rights to free speech, even here in Australia. It's also unacceptable that there should be any threats or risk of detention for Australians supporting the rights of Jimmy Lai or other citizens of Hong Kong targeted by the national security law.

Australia, along with other nations, has an important role to play in speaking up about the treatment of Jimmy Lai and the national security law. The US and the United Kingdom, as well as the United Nations, have called for Mr Lai's immediate and unconditional release, and Australia, I believe, has a particular obligation to speak up because of the very unfortunate situation in which there are four Australians still serving as judges in the Hong Kong legal system. It is both appropriate and necessary that we in the Australian parliament speak up about our severe concerns about the repression of pro-democracy protests, the prosecution of journalists, and call for the release of Mr Lai. We have a responsibility to do so and it is pleasing that government, opposition and crossbench senators are joining together to make clear the views of the Australian Senate with this motion here today. It is welcome that officials confirmed at Senate estimates recently that the Australian government has been raising Mr Lai's case with Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. That should continue to happen, and the government has the full support of the coalition to continue to raise those concerns in bilateral engagements as well as in multilateral forums.

The protection of media freedom and the freedom of citizens to protest and criticise their government are fundamental to the protection of human rights. In jurisdictions where media freedom and freedom of speech are severely curtailed and where the press is pressured or compelled to comply with the government, inevitably citizens are subjected to other breaches of their human rights, such as arbitrary detention or torture, and that is exactly what is being reported as happening in Hong Kong, which is why it is so important for Australia as a responsible democracy to stand up for press freedom and against arbitrary detention.

Thank you to my colleagues Senator Sharma and Senator O'Neill for moving this motion, which I urge all senators to support. I encourage the government on behalf of Australia to continue to strenuously object to this dangerous national security law, its application to repress civil rights and particularly the targeting of Australians as a result.

Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Along with my colleagues across the Senate, I rise to speak in support of this matter of public importance on the ongoing detention and prosecution of Jimmy Lai. Today is a day of reflection because of the horrendous backdrop of 45 pro-democracy activists now facing up to 10 years in jail.

Mr Lai is a 76-year-old publisher and pro-democracy campaigner who, for decades, has been a high-profile figure in the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. He founded and ran the largest independent Chinese-language media outlet in Hong Kong, Apple Daily, until its forced closure in June 2021. Since December 2020, almost four years ago, Mr Lai has been detained in solitary confinement awaiting trial for charges of alleged sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. Importantly, for the purposes of this debate, Australia is directly implicated in these charges. The charges relating to the alleged collusion with foreign forces stated Mr Lai has encouraged eight countries to impose sanctions or engage in other hostile activities towards China. One of the eight countries implicated in this suit is Australia.

Mr Lai's trial is due to recommence this week. If convicted, he faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison. We are deeply concerned by Hong Kong's widespread application of national security laws to repress civil society and prosecute journalists like Jimmy Lai. The national security law, which Mr Lai is charged with breaching, has been applied broadly to arrest or pressure pro-democracy figures, opposition groups, the media, trade unions and civil society. And Hong Kong's article 23 legislation has further eroded rights and freedoms as guaranteed under basic law in the Sino-British joint declaration. These laws have had far-reaching impacts on individuals in Australia. We saw that with Hong Kong authorities issuing arrest warrants for Australian citizens.

Just today the foreign minister expressed our grave concern at the fate of Gordon Ng, an Australian citizen who has been sentenced under the national security law for organising a democratic primary. I call on China to cease its oppression of media freedoms and repeal the national security law. Earlier this year, I met with Mr Lai's son, Sebastian Lai, and his legal team to discuss the state of the case. I'm aware that this delegation also met with the foreign minister and other leaders across the political spectrum. Mr Lai's case and the case for greater civil liberties and political freedoms in Hong Kong has broad support in Australia and around the world. UN special rapporteurs have called on the Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against Mr Lai and release him immediately, citing multiple and serious violations of Mr Lai's rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and his right to a fair trial.

Mr Lai has been denied a fair trial and his choice of legal counsel, making it impossible for these charges to be fairly tested. As Mr Lai's son said earlier this year: 'They've made it pretty clear: no juries; three government-appointed judges; the security minister boasting of a hundred per cent conviction rate. So, in my mind, they just want to keep dad in prison for as long as they want to, and they'll just write the sentences around that.'

The crackdown on political freedoms and civil liberties in Hong Kong is a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong and for the many Australians who know and love the city and its people. We urge the Chinese government and Hong Kong authorities to uphold and protect those elements which have been so crucial to Hong Kong's success, including its high degree of autonomy; rights and freedoms, guaranteed by the basic law; and the Sino-British declaration, to which Beijing committed.

Malcolm Roberts (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hong Kong is a lesson in what happens when communism is imposed on democracy. China assured Hong Kong citizens that they would be respected, and then promptly broke that promise. In Hong Kong, the top 10 per cent of income earners now own 40 times the wealth of the bottom 10 per cent. Every year under communism makes income inequality in Hong Kong worse. It confirms that free enterprise lifts people out of poverty, while communism puts them in poverty. Communism promises joy and inclusion, while delivering misery and repression. Repression leads to everyday citizens having less, leading to more repression, which leads to more inequality, and on it goes.

China is improperly imprisoning freedom journalist and businessman Mr Jimmy Lai. China is taking a well-worn path of totalitarian governments across history.

Australia has cause for reflection. We're discussing this motion in the shadow of a looming Senate legislation guillotine. In a guillotine, the government gets the numbers to do whatever it wants, and it does just that, which is how communism starts—with unchallenged power. Senate guillotines have become commonplace. They should not be. Both parties have silenced democratic debate during guillotines, although it seems that Labor is wearing out its guillotine faster than Robespierre.

Three days of hearings into the misinformation and disinformation bill heard from expert witness after expert witness, all criticising the government for introducing a ministry of truth tasked with issuing sanctions against any social media platform which resisted removal of what the ministry considered 'misinformation'. This is how communism starts. The committee report had little in common with witness testimony. The report was nothing more than the government's 'truth'. The first target for the Albanese government's ministry of truth should be the Albanese government.

I welcome calling out Chinese communist repression, and I look forward to a wider conversation on where our actions in this chamber are leading Australia.

Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Home Ownership) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for this discussion has expired.