From the handling of protests in 2019 to last year’s controversial national security law, Beijing’s response to external outrage or objection over Hong Kong has been consistent: this is a purely internal affair. But while Canberra satisfyingly turned that logic against the Chinese government last week – in response to Beijing’s criticism after fugitive Hong Kong ex-lawmaker Ted Hui was allowed to enter Australia – this was certainly no moral victory.
Speaking to national broadcaster the ABC on March 11, Senator James Paterson – head of the parliamentary security and intelligence committee – said immigration policies were “purely a domestic sovereign issue for Australia”, and maintained a studied bafflement over why the Chinese government would regard Hui’s arrival as interference in its domestic affairs.
Hui, who on March 9 entered Australia on a tourist visa after leaving Britain, is facing a raft of charges at home related to his involvement in the protest movement. Allowing him to enter Australia, where his plans include lobbying Canberra to loosen its immigration rules for Hongkongers, is a bold and laudable move; Australia has decried the state of human rights and freedoms in the city following the imposition of the national security law last year, while Beijing’s grip on Hong Kong has grown ever tighter since with the passage of sweeping electoral changes.
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Australia suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong, offers residency pathway for Hongkongers
Australia suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong, offers residency pathway for Hongkongers
Alas, the language used to justify Hui’s arrival is more than a little hypocritical.
“I think there will be a lot of people in Hong Kong who will be looking elsewhere for their future, and we welcome those people with open arms to Australia,” Senator Paterson told the ABC. “Not just because we are a place that welcomes people who flee difficult circumstances, but because frankly these people have a lot of value to add to Australia.”
Hui has said he does not plan to seek asylum in Australia. But there are plenty who do, plenty from countries such as Iran, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan who have fled circumstances difficult and deadly, whom Canberra has seen fit to ignore or let languish for years. Where is their welcome? Do they not have value?
March 5 – four days before the Australian government coordinated Hui’s flight arrangements and exempted him from Covid-19 entry restrictions – marked the third year since a family of Tamil asylum seekers was taken from their home in Queensland and placed in detention after overstaying their visa.