Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Medicare) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) an estimated 25 million Uyghur people live in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region;

(b) many Uyghur people have fled their homeland and sought refuge in other countries including Australia;

(c) in recent years there have been increasing reports of violations of human rights of Uyghurs by Chinese Government authorities including arrest, interrogation, detention and incarceration in what are referred to as re-education camps; and

(d) many Uyghurs now living in Australia have lost contact with family members and relatives in their homeland and they hold grave concerns for their safety; and

(2) calls on the Government to:

(a) raise concerns about allegations of human rights abuse against Uyghurs with the Chinese Government through whatever opportunities are available;

(b) assist in whatever way is possible Australian Uyghur residents to make contact with family members and relatives in their homelands; and

(c) expeditiously process permanent resident visa applications for Uyghur people in Australia on temporary protection visas.

The repression of Uyghur people in their homeland since 1949, known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, has a long history dating back to the mid 18th century. Exact Uyghur population numbers are difficult to ascertain, as it is claimed the government authorities deliberately understate their numbers. It has also been asserted that in recent years there has been a huge influx of Han Chinese into the region in an attempt to portray Uyghurs as a minority group.

Over past months I have met with several people, and received numerous letters from local Uyghur people, who raised with me their grave concerns about the wellbeing of family members and friends in their homeland. Their stories re-enforce reports from across the world by reputable sources, including Human Rights Watch, about the widespread human rights abuses taking place daily in Xinjiang and reports that over one million people are now detained in what are referred to as 'education camps'.

Once detained it is alleged that all contact with family and the outside world is often denied. It is also claimed that arrest and detention have escalated since 2016 after Communist party secretary, Chen Quanguo, assumed leadership in Xinjiang and that people are being detained for the most frivolous of charges. In one case, a Uyghur man was detained for changing his watch to Urumqi time, which is two hours behind Beijing time. Doing so is seen as form of resistance against the Chinese government, which has only one official time zone from east to west.

It is also believed that Xinjiang has one of the highest densities of security cameras on earth, enabling constant monitoring of locals by authorities, including the use of facial recognition cameras. Noticeably, the cameras are predominantly installed by two companies, Hikvision and Dahua, which have had other accusations of being associated with Chinese government spying in other places around the world.

For Uyghur people living in Xinjiang just making contact with the outside world risks interrogation and arrest. Family members abroad avoid contacting relatives in Xinjiang for fear of putting them at risk. For Uyghurs who have fled Xinjiang losing contact with family and friends, not knowing if they are alive or dead, well or unwell, is extremely stressful. I have seen the strain in their faces and heard it in their voices.

They are pleading for government help. In particular, they are asking the Australian government to raise the persecution of Uyghur people with the Chinese government, to raise the issue in international forums and to expedite the processing of permanent residency applications by Uyghur people currently in Australia on temporary protection visas. They have also raised a petition signed by 11,144 people. I present the petition to the House.

The petition read as follows—

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