China rebukes barred Australian lawmakers, demands repentance for criticism
- Parliamentarians denied entry for Beijing study trip must ‘genuinely repent and redress their mistakes’ if dialogue is to take place, embassy says
- Think tank behind the visit blames media attention for visa problems
The Chinese embassy in Australia has said two lawmakers must “repent and redress their mistakes” after they were denied entry to China because of their outspoken criticism of Beijing.
Andrew Hastie and James Paterson were due to visit China next month, on a study tour organised by an Australian think tank, but said they had been barred because of their “frankness about the Chinese Communist Party”.
The two conservative members of Australia’s parliament have been increasingly critical of the Chinese regime, its attempts to exert influence in Australia and of Beijing’s handling of the protests in Hong Kong.
Late on Saturday, the Chinese embassy in Canberra issued a statement saying China would remain open to a dialogue as long as “the people concerned genuinely repent and redress their mistakes”.
“The Chinese people do not welcome those who make unwarranted attacks, wantonly exert pressure on China, challenge China’s sovereignty, disrespect China’s dignity and undermine mutual trust between China and Australia,” it said.
“The colonial days of Western powers are long gone. China will never yield to colonisation of ideas and values.”
