Senator Russell Trood (Liberal, Queensland) today welcomed the forthright way in which the Prime Minister, Mr Rudd, had raised concerns about human rights abuses in China and more especially in Tibet, during his visit to Beijing.
Senator Trood said the whole world recognised China’s very poor record on human rights and that the recent very harsh crackdown on dissent in Tibet was a further reflection of its continuous abuses. “The Prime Minister was right to raise the matter and to press the Chinese leadership to reform its policy,” he said.
Senator Trood also said that while calls for a political boycott of the Olympic Games were well intended and served to draw attention to China’s poor human rights record, they will almost certainly and regrettably, have no impact on Chinese policy.
“Of course the Olympic Games is a political event,” Senator Trood said, “but there is little likelihood the Chinese will be forced into a back-down by shrill calls for change from outsiders. China has always regarded its rule in Tibet as an internal matter and not surprisingly insisted on its sovereignty there. A boycott will not change Chinese behaviour and runs the risk of wrecking the Olympics for all of the athletes who have trained so hard to achieve excellence at the world’s ultimate sporting event.”
“While I am certainly no apologist for China’s bad behaviour on human rights,” Senator Trood said, “it needs to be recognised that China has made progress in improving the social and economic opportunities of its people in recent years and that encouraging steps have occurred in the development of the rule of law and a more accountable judicial system. China has a very long way to go to reach standards that would be acceptable in the West, but progress is being made from a very low base.”
“Critics of China should not be denied the right to protest the Olympic torch relay, but the best way to make further progress on human rights in China is through continuous dialogue and sustained diplomatic pressure,” Senator Trood said.
“China needs to be brought into the international community as a ‘responsible stakeholder’ and not alienated from it. It needs to be encouraged to acknowledge its very low human rights standards and drawn to reform, not pressured into defending them by international action designed to force a change of policy but more likely to be seen in China as involving a humiliating loss of ‘face.’”
Senator Trood said that aside from raising human rights issues at every opportunity and supporting the courageous stand of the Dalai Lama, the Rudd government could do still more to advance the reform agenda by up-grading the regular human rights dialogue meetings begun with the Chinese under the Howard government.
“The previously closed sessions should be up-graded to a higher level of ministerial participation, opened to greater public scrutiny and a full record of the proceedings should be published on completion of the talks. Australia should also encourage other members of the international community to press China continuously on its human rights record.” Senator Trood said.