Request for Formal Statement from Minister for Foreign Affairs Senator the Hon. Penny Wong

OPEN LETTER

Dear Foreign Minister Wong,

We write on behalf of the Australian and New Zealand Alliance for Victims of the Chinese Communist Regime to express our strong opposition to the Hong Kong government’s July 25 announcement of new arrest warrants and bounties targeting Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms, and in particular, an Australian citizen, Dr. Feng Chongyi, a China studies professor at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Dr Feng was detained for a week in China in 2017, held without charge on what Beijing described as national security reasons. He was then safely returned to Australia with the assistance of the Australian government. Dr Feng is also the president of this Alliance, a China studies expert, and a tireless advocate upholding basic human rights and freedoms.

Extraterritorial arrest warrants and wild-west style bounties with no basis in international law are classic Chinese Communist Party transnational repression. It is typical of a regime that has no moral foundation, and seeks to exert its influence through mafia-like tactics of intimidation, inducement and coercion.

We acknowledge and appreciate your comments on social media platform X, which affirmed the essential democratic rights of freedom of expression and assembly, and Australia’s strong objections to China and Hong Kong’s extraterritorial application of its national security legislation.

However, we respectfully ask you to do more.   

In January 2021, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States Secretary of State, issued a joint public statement on the arrests of 55 politicians and activists in Hong Kong for subversion under the National Security Law.

Over the last few days, the US Secretary of State, the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Public Safety, and UK Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary have all issued formal statements which “strongly oppose”, “condemn”, or “will not tolerate” the actions taken by Hong Kong authorities which were rightly seen as transnational repression and a threat to the sovereignty and security of the people in their countries.

We ask you to also issue a formal ministerial statement, similar to those from the above Five-Eyes Alliance nations, to make clear the Australian government’s strong opposition to these latest examples of China’s transnational repression. We believe that would help Australians feel that our sovereignty and security are at the forefront of the government’s obligations.

Further, we urge that Australia's autonomous human rights and corruption sanctions frameworks under the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, as amended by the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-style and Other Thematic Sanctions), be used to sanction Hong Kong officials responsible for issuing the arrest warrants.

Banning their entry to Australia would at least send a message to Hong Kongers here, in Hong Kong and around the world, and the Australian community more broadly, that the Australian government takes their safety and human rights seriously.

It would also reassure Dr Feng, and the many academics and human rights advocates associated with this Alliance group, that their efforts to help end the suffering of their communities in China, and raise awareness of the communist regime's ongoing human rights atrocities are not in vain.

Transnational repression, such as this act by China, is designed to extend China's human rights abuses beyond its borders, infiltrating the lives and safety of Australians who criticise China on their human rights record. The Australian Government should act quickly and decisively against this act of foreign interference to ensure that both the safety of Dr Feng is assured but also that his rights to freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of association are not threatened by the Chinese Government.

The Prime Minister recently travelled to China and while there failed to raise with Xi Jinping human rights abuses committed by the Chinese Government against Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Chinese democracy activists. By failing to challenge China the Australian Government has signalled that China may continue to commit such human rights abuses with impunity. Australia must remove this impunity and act decisively to protect human rights for affected communities in China, but critically for Australian citizens threatened by China, such as Dr Chongyi Feng.

We look forward to the publication of your statement and also request a meeting with your office, which should include Dr Feng, at your earliest convenience to discuss how the Australian Government will ensure that Australian citizens from communities targeted by the Chinese Government can be assured of their safety.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Chen Yonglin, Secretary and Dr Zoë Bedford, Campaign Coordinator

On behalf of the Australia and New Zealand Alliance for Victims of the Chinese Communist Regime

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