China's ambassador to Australia lashed out at human rights activists who heckled him Friday, June 24, at a university in Sydney, during a speech on the future of relations at rock bottom between the two countries .
Read alsoWhy Australia is afraid of China
Xiao Qian, who has held the post since January, had just started his speech at the University of Technology in Sydney when protesters interrupted him, calling for freedom for Tibet and Hong Kong.
The ambassador was interrupted several times by demonstrators who held up placards, some denouncing the policy of repression carried out against the Muslim minority of the Uyghurs as well as the university which had invited Xiao Qian to speak.
The ambassador claimed that being so repeatedly interrupted violated freedom of expression.
Tensions since 2020
James Laurenson, director of the Institute of Australia-China Relations, who had invited Xiao Qian to campus, said the university "
welcomes freedom of speech on campus
."
“
This right, however, does not extend to speaking over that of the guests
,” he added.
During the ambassador's speech, a protester was escorted out of the room by security as she shouted, "
The University of Technology cannot accommodate a genocidal dictatorship
."
Another placard, on which was written “
Free Tibet, Free
East Turkestan”, was snatched from his hands by a member of the audience.
Beijing and Canberra have been at loggerheads since 2020, following Australia's request for an independent investigation into the origins of the pandemic.
Canberra then excluded Chinese giant Huawei from the market for the construction of its 5G telecommunications network.
China, Australia's biggest trading partner, had retaliated with retaliatory measures targeting more than a dozen Australian products, including coal, wine and barley.
Read alsoChina against Australia: the reasons for the escalation
In mid-June, the new Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles met his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore.
It was the first ministerial meeting between the two nations in three years.
In his speech, Xiao Qian said the Australian elections in May, which saw victory for the centre-left Labor Party, created an "
opportunity for possible improvement
" in relations between the two countries.
He quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi as saying that "
a reset requires concrete actions
" and underlined the potential for cooperation in politics, economy and security, as well as business. regional.
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