Open Letter to Prime Minister of Australia

Open Letter to Prime Minister of Australia

Started
22 July 2020
Signatures: 5,870Next Goal: 7,500
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Why this petition matters

The Hon. Scott Morrison, MP

Prime Minister of Australia

Dear Prime Minister,

We are a group of Hong Kong people residing in different cities in Australia. We love Australia and harbour a deep and abiding belief in democracy, the rule of law and freedom of speech. We, as a community, want to reiterate our sincere appreciation to the Australian government and the Australian people in taking a brave and principled stance to support the people of Hong Kong through extending the visas of those already residing in Australia. Many of us owe this country our lives. We are writing to you, however, to register our concern that in the absence of a sufficient screening process, Australia may end up unwittingly offering democratic rights to the very people who have robbed us of those same rights in Hong Kong. We strongly urge the Australian government to exclude individuals with links to the Chinese Communist Party, be they from Mainland China or Hong Kong, from obtaining permanent residency or citizenship in Australia - either for themselves or their family members. This should include the families of all senior officials in the current Hong Kong administration and Hong Kong police force, as well as all members of the Chinese Communist Party. Unless thorough screening is in place, we fear that we and our families may face political reprisals at the hands of Communist Party agents in Australia.

As Hong Kong people, we know many of the pro-Beijing officials and police are extremely keen to obtain foreign visas and passports - seeing it as an insurance policy against political instability at home and as a manner of taking advantage of the high quality of life available in Western societies. Not only do these individuals not share Australian values, they have actively worked to erode such values in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong community in Australia, and the Chinese community more broadly, cannot consider themselves safe whilst agents of Chinese Community Party continue to operate with relative impunity in this country. It is well documented that the Chinese Communist Party has worked within Western countries to target and intimidate those who have opposed the regime in Beijing. Whilst this ought to be of concern for all Australians, it is particularly terrifying for Australians of Chinese descent, whom the Party regards as subject to its jurisdiction. We fear that many Australians may not realise the magnitude or the pervasiveness of Communist activity within their country’s borders. Consider the violent action taken against pro-democracy protesters at the University of Queensland by pro-CCP thugs, the ongoing detention and torture of Australian democracy activist Yang Hengjun in Beijing, and the ominous sightings of cars painted in the manner of Chinese police vehicles in Perth and Adelaide. Whilst Hong Kongers were fighting for the very values upon which this country’s political system is based, hundreds of pro-CCP residents of Sydney and Melbourne have protested against Hong Kong democracy. At these events, and at pro-democracy marches in Australia, there have been instances where people from Taiwan and Hong Kong have been physically beaten. These measures are clearly designed to frighten us into silence - but as Australians, even as new Australians, we will not be silent.

Two names highlighted in the a recent article in The Australian, Yeung Yun-hung and Tam Yiu-chung, represent our concern as a community. Both of these individuals have been central to the erosion of ‘One Country Two Systems’ and the repudiation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in Hong Kong. Both have also sought residency for themselves or their families in Australia. Yeung, as Minister of Education in Hong Kong, has threatened that teachers who in any way diverge from official government positions will face disciplinary action, including for expressing political views on their private social media accounts. He has also prohibited the singing of even mild protest songs by students. Most tragically for the people of Hong Kong, Yeung has proposed the implementation of a propaganda-based education format which will instil children in Hong Kong with rigid pro-government dogma from the earliest years of their education. Yeung, despite trampling on academic and intellectual freedom in Hong Kong’s education system, has sent his own children to be educated in Australia - where they have gone on to obtain citizenship. Given the economic sacrifices the Australian people have been willing to make to stand up to China’s oppression of Hong Kong people, we regard it as morally outrageous that one of the architects of such oppression was able to take advantage of this country’s liberal education system. Likewise, Tam Yiu-Ching is a leading member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in China.  He has led the committee representing Hong Kong to support and rubber-stamp the passage of the National Security Law: an Orwellian piece of legislation which allows for the transportation of Hong Kongers to the Mainland to be tried for political crimes. He, too, has children who have become Australian citizens. We believe that Australia ought to take firm action to ensure outcomes of this nature are not repeated in the future. In this way, visa extensions and permanent residence can be offered solely for the benefit of those who share this country’s values and who will utilise their talents, capital and passion to make this country and it’s democratic institutions stronger.

Yours sincerely,

A group of Hong Kong people

 

 

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Signatures: 5,870Next Goal: 7,500
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