Key Points
- China's Premier Li Qiang says Australia will get to choose two new Chinese pandas to replace two at Adelaide Zoo.
- Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she would advocate for the imprisoned writer Yang Hengjun.
- Qiang said Australia's relationship with China was 'back on track'.
China's Premier Li Qiang was met by dozens of protesters on a visit to Adelaide Zoo who were urging Australian officials to confront China over alleged human rights abuses.
Some protesters held Uyghur, Tibetan and Hong Kong flags, or waved signs asking Australia not to submit to "panda propaganda".
Former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui told SBS World News he and other protesters were gathered to send a message to the Australian government that human rights were more important than pandas.
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What is panda diplomacy, and how is China using it in Australia?"In China, especially where I’m from in Hong Kong, we’ve been put to jail. Especially my former parliamentarian colleagues, dissidents and activists have been put in jail just for their peaceful pursuits for human rights and democracy.
"This is not right. We are here so that the Australian government can listen to us when they’re shaking hands with the Chinese premier.
"He (Albanese) should raise it with Qiang".
Former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui says many of his colleagues have been imprisoned. Source: SBS News / Peta Doherty
"The fact that Tibetans are being tortured in Chinese prisons for criticising the Chinese occupation of Tibet while the prime minister and foreign minister discuss trade and pandas is an affront to Tibetans' unflinching resistance to Chinese occupation, and the Tibetan struggle for freedom," Zoe Bedford of the Australian Tibetan Council said in a statement.
Last month Australian-Hong Kong dual citizen Gordon Ng
was among 14 pro-democracy activists convicted by a Hong Kong court on national security charges, following a landmark subversion trial.
"Are the human rights of Gordon Ng, an Australian citizen and Hong Konger who has been in prison in Hong Kong for 3.5 years already and possibly for life, not more important than the pandas?" Hui said.
Hundreds more people appearing to support Qiang also gathered.
Qiang was at Adelaide Zoo to announce giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni will return to China in November after 15 years.
He said the zoo will get to select two new pandas as part of China's breeding program and
practice of panda diplomacy
.
The pandas failed to produce an offspring in their time in Australia, amid hopes they could boost the endangered animals' population.
What has the Australian government said about Li Qiang's visit?
Meanwhile Foreign Minister Penny Wong has promised during Qiang's visit to advocate for Australian writer
Yang Hengjun, who languishes ill in a Chinese jail
.
Giant panda Wang Wang tries to open its gift box during its birthday party in Adelaide Zoo. Credit: Sipa USA
Senator Wong's comments on ABC Insiders on Sunday came after China's second-most powerful leader declared on arrival in Adelaide on Saturday that the relationship was "back on track after a period of twists and turns".
The imprisonment of Yang, who received a
suspended death sentence in February
and remains in jail, and the targeting of Australian residents by Hong Kong authorities, are viewed as thorny points on the first visit by a Chinese premier in seven years.
"We will continue to advocate wherever we are able and we will continue to advocate for appropriate medical treatment" for Yang, Wong said when asked whether she would raise his ill health with Qiang.
She reiterated Australia's
long-standing position on Taiwan
, describing it as "one of the riskier flashpoints" in the world.
China's military has stepped up training exercises around Taiwan as it reinforces the
long-held Chinese position
that the island is part of the mainland and may be taken by force.
Away from the Taiwan issue, the growing number of incidents between Australian and Chinese militaries has strained the relationship in recent times.
Reaffirming the status quo on Taiwan, Senator Wong said Australia would continue to push for calm in the region and press its claims with Beijing.
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What is panda diplomacy, and how is China using it in Australia?"We will co-operate where we can, we will disagree where we must and we will engage in our national interest," Wong said.
In advance of Qiang's visit, the opposition warned the prime minister not to go easy on him.
But the commodities Australia exports to China to produce the steel, copper and aluminium that form the backbone of its economy add an important dimension to relations.
Qiang also met with winemakers, who have been celebrating a return to the market that has driven global wine sales for decades, following the lifting of a ban on Australian wine.
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Detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun handed suspended death sentence by Chinese courtBeijing has gradually
dropped restrictions on exports
, with less than $1 billion worth of trade restrictions remaining on rock lobsters and two meatworks.
Around 350 winemakers, mostly South Australian, are now selling their products back into the Chinese market.
Trade Minister Don Farrell, who is a South Australian winemaker himself, said business was booming again for the nation's wine producers.
"In the last month, since the ban on wine was lifted, we've sold $86 million of wine into China," Farrell said on Sunday Agenda.
