Dissident Chinese diplomat to speak at the University of Melbourne
Media Release, Friday 29 July 2005
Chinese dissident Chen Yonglin, the former diplomat recently granted a permanent protection visa by the Australian government, will speak to an open forum on the nature of political asylum in Australia, at the University of Melbourne next Friday.
The forum, organised by Dr Antonia Finnane of the History Department at the University, will also be addressed by Swinburne University Research Fellow Dr Klaus Neumann, author of the book Refuge Australia.
Dr Finnane says that with the government currently reviewing and making changes to its policies on asylum, refuge and immigration, Chen Yonglin’s application for political asylum is an issue of high public interest and the forum is an opportunity to consider its implications further.
“Like Cornelia Rau and Vivian Solon, whose handling by government officials has prompted scrutiny of the Department of Immigration, Mr Chen has received a lot of attention from the media and asylum and refugee advocates.
“The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee is now conducting an inquiry into the response of various government departments to Mr Chen’s attempts to obtain asylum, effectively linking his case to those of the Australian nationals, and particularly that of Vivian Solon whose treatment is simultaneously being considered by the committee”.
Chen Yonglin’s case, notes Dr Finnane, carries additional interest because the Australian government is currently preparing to join the East Asia Summit while at the same time agreeing to membership of the Halibut Group, an informal discussion group consisting of the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Japan and focused on China.
“The government’s initial response to Mr Chen’s application suggests that Australia’s interest in close economic relations with China and management of strategic issues can easily distract attention from its international human rights obligations. An application for political asylum requires a government to consider seriously the actual political circumstances of the country of origin”.
The Federal Court, she points out, has just ruled that the holder of such a Permanent Protection Visa cannot be deported on expiry of the visa unless the government can prove that the country of origin is safe. She concludes that the law may well force the government to look more closely at the political culture of China than it has cared to in recent years.
Who:
Chen Yonglin, Chinese Consulate dissident
What:
History Department Forum – ‘Political Asylum in Australia’
When:
Friday 5 August at 12.30 - 2.00pm
Where:
Prince Philip Theatre, Architecture Building.
More information:
Dr Antonia Finnane
History Department
Tel: 8344 5957
Email: a.finnane@unimelb.edu.au
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