Australia urges China to let Uygur mother and child leave the country and relocate

Canberra has traditionally been keen to avoid friction with its biggest trading partner, but tensions between the two countries have escalated

Beijing defends its use of internment camps in Xinjiang, which it says are necessary to counter religious extremism and terrorism

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An angry crowd clashes with Chinese paramilitary police in Xinjiang. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:20pm, 17 Jul 2019Updated: 12:49pm, 17 Jul 2019

Australia’s government on Wednesday called on China to allow an Australian child and his Uygur mother to leave the country, stepping up pressure on Beijing days after Canberra co-signed a letter denouncing its treatment of the Muslim minority.

China has rounded up an estimated 1 million Uygurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking minorities into re-education camps in the tightly controlled region of Xinjiang in the country’s northwest.

Canberra had initially denied citizenship to baby Lutifeier, who was born in Xinjiang in August 2017 to an Australian father and a Uygur mother, but backtracked last year following a legal battle.

The child’s father, Sadam Abdusalam, has been campaigning for months so his Uygur wife, Nadila Wumaier, and their son, whom he has never met, can come to Australia.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said “the embassy in Beijing have formally requested that the Chinese authorities allow Ms Wumaier and her son [who is an Australian citizen] to travel to Australia”.

The statement came after Abdusalam shared his plight publicly for the first time, speaking to the national broadcaster ABC on Sunday. He said his wife was taken in for questioning by Chinese authorities the following day, but was later released.

Payne said on Wednesday that she was aware of the reports, but cautioned that “as Ms Wumaier is not an Australian citizen we do not have an entitlement to consular access”.