Dissident shares the limelight

President Hu Jintao's arrival in Sydney yesterday for the Apec forum was marked with relative calm.

But a public forum that included a high-profile 1989 dissident went ahead despite objections from Beijing.

Rights groups also said rallies had been arranged for different causes over the next three days.

Former Tiananmen dissident leader Wang Juntao spoke last night at a forum at Sydney's Parliament House called 'Balancing the scales with China'.

The forum coincided with a state dinner hosted by New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma at Mr Hu's hotel, just a five-minute walk from Parliament House.

Mr Hu complimented the role New South Wales had played in building friendship between the two countries at the dinner.

He singled out three former Australian prime ministers - Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating - for their role in developing the Sino-Australian relationship.

Mr Hu has a packed schedule today. He will meet Australian Prime Minister John Howard and ministers in the morning, speak at the opening session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation business summit on sustaining economic growth in the region and meet US President George W. Bush in the afternoon.