Australia rejects Chinese defector

Story dated 06 June 2005

"Australia is a democratic country. I thought they would help me. My family is desperate. We are helpless. We need to be in a safe place." These were the words uttered by Chen Yonglin as Australia turned down his request for asylum. He has expressed disagreement with China's official policy of arresting dissenting political voices. He fears that he, himself (and his family) will be punished for his views. Fu Ying, China's ambassador, disagreed: "I don't think there is any reason China would punish him," she said. "There are laws which would guarantee his freedom." Oh really? That's interesting, considering that President Hu fully supports China's policy of arresting dissidents, and thinks that it was a good idea to crush students with tanks (remember this story?). What is Australia thinking? Oh, yeah, I forgot, they were trying to negotiate a free trade deal with China at the time. Enjoy your free trade, bought with this man's blood . . . or at the very least, his liberty. This makes me sick.

posted by The Sovereign Editor | 2:45 AM

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