Leaders Skip China Rights Talks

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday December 26, 2008

Jonathan Pearlman Foreign Affairs Correspondent

THE Federal Government is yet to hold its first human rights dialogue with China after it was skipped this year for the first time since the talks became an annual event 11 years ago.

The dialogues are one of the few opportunities to raise human rights with China at a senior level and are regarded by the Australian Government as the principal vehicle for expressing concerns with Beijing.

But the confidential talks have been criticised for allowing China to avoid public scrutiny and for diminishing efforts to raise human rights at a multilateral level.

Kevin Rudd gained much credit for publicly raising human rights during his first visit to China as Prime Minister in April, but pledged to use the dialogues to raise concerns.

Mr Rudd and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, have repeatedly said the talks would be held in the second half of this year.

In August Mr Rudd told the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, in Beijing that Australia was concerned about religious freedom, human rights in Tibet and internet freedom and would pursue these issues through further leaders' meetings and the dialogues.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has blamed the failure to hold a dialogue this year on the Olympics in Beijing in August, even though talks were held when Sydney hosted the Olympics in 2000.

A Foreign Affairs spokesman said this year had been an exception. "Inter alia, Chinese hosting of the 2008 Beijing Olympics made it difficult for both sides to agree on a schedule at a mutually convenient time."

The Government hoped to schedule its first dialogue for early next year.

"This was the first time there was a break in the annual cycle since the beginning of the dialogue process in 1997," he said.

The establishment of the dialogues, which began informally in 1991 and 1992 and became an annual event in 1997, was hailed as a breakthrough by the Australian Government, which is one of only two countries allowed by China to consult on human rights at a senior ministerial level.

Within weeks of becoming the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Smith agreed to departmental advice to continue the dialogue, and approved early resumption of human rights discussions.

The dialogues are usually led by a deputy secretary from the department and an assistant minister from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Issues raised have included the role of lawyers, labour rights and the rights of people with HIV-AIDS.

A departmental report this year, obtained by the Herald under freedom of information laws, said progress was "incremental, but positive".

Various Chinese agencies took part, the report said. "This exposes a wide range of Chinese officials to Australia's concerns about human rights in China, and our approach to human rights."

Mr Smith appears to have largely been eclipsed on formulating China policy by Mr Rudd, who speaks Mandarin and was a diplomat in Beijing. Mr Rudd has visited China twice as Prime Minister. Mr Smith has not visited Beijing as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, but he has met his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, several times.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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