6 October 1990
Sixteen months ago, I stood with many others in the Great Hall of this Parliament House, to remember with sorrow and outrage the brutal massacre that polluted Tiananmen Square
and disfigured the face of China in the eyes of the world. As we meet tonight, those terrible events still cast a dark shadow over us.
The bright candle of democracy that in May and June 1989 had shone so brightly, in Beijing, Shanghai, and elsewhere throughout China, remains snuffed out. The path towards freedom and human rights that was then being opened up,
remains blocked.
And of course those thousands of young Chinese citizens who were so brutally killed by their own leaders live no more except in our memory, where their vision of a better future remains fresh and bright.
China's decision, in the late 1970's, to embark on new, outward-looking, and more liberal policies especially in the economic sphere put it years ahead of other centrally planned economies.
This preparedness to enhance the basic well being of the Chinese people through modernisation, openness and, in
particular, contact with the West, laid the foundations for
the exceptionally close relationships that developed with
Australia in the 1980' s and which my Government did all it
could to foster.
What a tragedy it is not just for China but for China's
relationship with Australia that those policies of
liberalisation, and that exceptionally close relationship,
were brought to a premature end by the events in Tian'anmen
Square. Yet in the face of all these real and profound reasons for
sorrow, we * meet tonight in a spirit of companionship and
even, of relative confidence for the future.
That confidence has three strong sources.
First, there is the knowledge that Australia is doing what
we can as a nation to reverse the unacceptable conditions
that prevail within China today.
Second, there is the knowledge that we have safeguarded the
future of those Chinese residents who were stranded in
Australia sixteen months ago.
And third, there is the knowledge that as the world changes
so dramatically, so in time must change inevitably come to
China too. Because surely the fundamental lesson taught to
us by the recent events in Eastern Europe and the Soviet
Union is that economic and political freedoms go hand in
hand; and to the extent that China today is continuing to
achieve economic liberalisation, that attempt cannot
ultimately succeed unless it is accompanied by social and
political freedoms.
I know you share the confidence derived from those three
sources, and I appreciate both your expression of support
for what the Australian Government has done, and is doing,
in the wake of these terrible events in China, and the
opportunity you have given me to speak on these matters this
evening. In the days following Tian'anmen I gave, you recall, two
firm undertakings.
First, I said that no resident of the People's Republic of
China in Australia at the time of the massacre would be
forced to return to China against his or her will. Second,
and of equal importance, I said that no-one would be forced
into making a premature choice between China and Australia.
Those undertakings were borne out in the subsequent
decisions of Federal Cabinet and I want to acknowledge, in
Gerry Hand's presence tonight, his crucial role in reaching
those decisions.
Residents of the PRC in Australia on 20 June 1989 will be
able to remain in Australia for four years under a special
category of temporary residence permit. The conditions
under which they can remain are as generous as any granted
by any country in the world. Holders of these special
permits are allowed to work. They can apply for their
spouses and dependent children to join them in Australia.
They are provided with access to social services, labour
market programs, English language training and education.
But the door also remains open for those who want to return
home to China. A significant number have already done so.
But many others need time to think about their future; to
watch developments in their homeland; to seek assurances for
their safety. We have given them that time.
The situation for PRC residents who have come to Australia
since June 1989 is equally clear. They can apply and
numbers are applying for refugee status on exactly the
same conditions as all other refugee applications.
These decisions were correct morally, administratively and
economically. They were right for those Chinese residents
directly affected; they had the overwhelming support of you,
Australians of Chinese descent; and I confidently predict
that they will come to be seen as right for Australia. For
those Chinese who stay will undoubtedly contribute
significantly to the well-being of our economy and our
country. There is really only one group that has looked upon the
decisions with some dismay and that is, not surprisingly,
the Chinese leadership, which has responded with assurances
about the safety of students who return home to China.
Such assurances can ultimately only be assessed by
individuals as they make their own decision about whether or
not to return to China; if they turn out to be well-founded
assurances and I want to make clear I hope they will
many more will no doubt be encouraged to return. But the
point is that it is up to the individuals to decide; our
arrangements to give them time to decide will remain in
place. So let the Australian message be very clear. We do not want
China to continue down the path of repression. We want to
see China resume the path of reform and modernisation. As
Australians, we will do all we can to discourage the former
and to encourage the latter.
This determination has underpinned all we have said and done as a Government since June 1989.
Australia has enduring interests political, strategic and
economic interests in our relations with China, derived
from our geographical position, our trading environment, and
from our wide variety of people-to-people links.
As early as July last year, we made the fundamental decision
to keep open Australia's lines of access to as many sections
of Chinese society as possible, and to maintain economic,
educational and cultural exchanges. To do otherwise to
embark on a policy of mindless isolation of those in China
with whom we can cooperate and maintain bridges of dialogue
would not be in our interests, or the interests of the
people of China for whose future we deeply care.
So in the months that have followed we have, with considerable success, encouraged China to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the tragedy of Cambodia; we have voiced our support for China's participation, with the economies of Hong Kong and Taiwan, in the process of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation which I launched in Canberra in November last year. We have hosted a visit to Australia by the Chinese Minister to Metallurgical Industry last May for the opening of the Channar Iron-Ore Joint Venture, and the Australian Minister for Trade Negotiations, Dr Blewett, visited China recently for discussions about our key economic interests.
But at the same time as we have done all this, we have maintained our emphatic, consistent and principled opposition to the continuing repression of democracy and the
suppression of human rights in China.
We have taken every opportunity, in bilateral and
multilateral forums, to make known this opposition to the
Chinese. And it was plain that the Government's judgement,
at this stage, that Dr Blewett should not meet with the
Chinese Premier was a most eloquent and effective statement
of our views.
While we recognise that ministerial contacts actively
contribute to the pursuit of the enduring interests to which
I have referred, we allow such contacts only after a
considered analysis of the balance of Australia's interests.
Such assessments involve real difficulties, including the
incidental difficulty of leaving the Government open to the
cheap shot from those in the Federal Opposition who find it
easy to theorise but who do not have to implement their
policies in the real world.
But let no one doubt that we will continue to pursue
Australia's interests with diligence and judgement,
including our very real desire for China to resume its
process of reform, and to realise its huge potential.
I know many of you will be meeting tomorrow with members of
the Federal Opposition. That's entirely appropriate, and I
am sure it will be a stimulating meeting. May I preface
that meeting with a few comments about Dr Hewson's views on
China. I have read the press reports of Dr Hewson's recent visit to
China the suggestion that he accepted the Chinese
assurances about the safety of students who return to China;
his rejection of a special visa category for Chinese
students in Australia in favour of an impractical and
undesirable case-by-case approach; and his extraordinary
characterisation of some Chinese students in Australia as
" shish kebab" students. These are all of some concern to
me.
But when you look beyond these various elements at the basic
view Dr Hewson seems to have about how Australia should deal
with China, you find an even more surprising thing. Because
when you boil it all down, what Dr Hewson apparently
advocates is that we should push the Chinese hard on human
rights, while seeking openings for continued commercial
contacts. In other words, you have the basic elements of
the Government's policy that we have pursued since July last
year. Now I could say I welcome Dr Hewson's support. But frankly
I'm disturbed by the Opposition Leader's apparent attempt to
carve out a separate partisan position where there is no
essential policy difference in overall posture towards
China. Grandstanding is a cheap trick but in foreign policy terms
it's an unwise one. Dr Hewson has not yet plugged his
credibility gap on foreign policy, and he certainly has not
displayed any sense that he understands the totality of this
country's interests in regard to China.
The fundamental fact is this: the Australian Government has
responded to the tragic reversals in China decisively and
appropriately. We are doing what we must to ensure China
sinks no further into the past. And no one will be happier
than I will be when China can once more resume a totally
positive involvement in the region and the world.
My friends,
Since Gold Rush days, Chinese migrants and their descendants
have played an important part in Australia's history. In an
often hostile environment they have helped to build the
wealth of our nation and the richness of our community.
I want to say, tonight that Chinese Australians have much
more to contribute to Australia's future.
One of the underlying principles of my Government's National
Agenda for a Multicultural Australia is that it is in the
interests of all Australians that we fully use the valuable
skills and talents of our ethnic communities.
I know that multiculturalism means different things to
different people. But of one thing there can be no doubt.
Australia today is a culturally diverse society in which
four out of every ten people were born overseas or have
parents born overseas.
And we are a richer nation for it. Australia today has an
excitement and vibrancy which is the equal of any country in
the world.
6.
Last year I launched the Garnaut Report on Australia's ties
with North East Asia. The report underlined the fact that
our trading partnerships will be enhanced by a greater
understanding of the different values and cultures of the
countries we deal with. And it noted that Australia's Asian
communities are a key resource which needs to be employed to
assist us in involving ourselves in the economic, social and
political life of our region.
So the Chinese-Australian community has a special role to
play. Your understanding of Asian society, the language
skills that you have maintained and passed to your children,
coupled with your undoubted commitment to this nation, can
only enhance our ability to build a stronger position for us
in our region. That is multiculturalism at work.
Friends I am aware that many of you have travelled to Canberra from
Cabramatta. As many of you will be aware, the " Pailau"
Beautification Association plans to erect a ceremonial
Chinese archway at the entrance to the Cabramatta Mall.
The plan features a pair of golden bronze lions to mark the
entry, according to ancient Chinese tradition.
Just outside the House of Representatives, two marble lions stand in the Chinese gardens, a gift from the people of China to mark the opening of the New Parliament House. The lion, a symbolic guardian of the community, is a symbol
both of your commitment to Australia and of Australia's commitment to a multicultural society. It is in that spirit that I am pleased to announce my personal support for the Cabramatta Pailau Committee's plans and to dedicate one of the lions to Australia's multicultural future.
And it is in that spirit that I express my appreciation for your invitation to address you this evening, and my best wishes for your safe return home.