Australia's leader rejects Beijing's claims that his country is rife with 'racism and hate crimes'
apnews.com
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected accusations from Beijing that his country is “plagued by systemic racism and hate crimes” after an Australian diplomat led a group of Western nations in renewing concerns about human rights violations in China.

Another piece on topic: Liberal Senator James Paterson rejects ‘lectures’ from Chinese Communist Party on human rights after Beijing’s shock claim

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected accusations from Beijing that his country is “plagued by systemic racism and hate crimes” after an Australian diplomat led a group of Western nations in renewing concerns about human rights violations in China.

“When it comes to China, we’ve said we’ll cooperate where we can, we’ll disagree where we must, and we’ll engage in our national interest, and we’ve raised issues of human rights with China,” Albanese told reporters on Thursday as he arrived in the Pacific Island nation of Samoa for a Commonwealth leaders’ summit.

A day earlier, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian had denounced a statement made by 15 nations to the United Nations General Assembly this week — presented by a top Australian envoy — underscoring “ongoing concerns” about “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang and Tibet.

James Larsen, Australia’s ambassador to the U.N., urged China to “uphold the international human rights obligations that it has voluntarily assumed” by releasing “all individuals arbitrarily detained in both Xinjiang and Tibet, and urgently clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing family members.”

[…]

Singling out Australia for rebuke, Jian said the country was “long plagued by systemic racism and hate crimes” and should resolve its own affairs rather than criticizing China’s.

[…]

The Chinese government launched in 2017 a campaign of assimilation in the northwestern Xinjiang region — home to 11 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities — that has included mass detentions, alleged political indoctrination, alleged family separations and alleged forced labor among other methods.

More than 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic minorities are estimated to have been held in extralegal internment camps. The Chinese government at the time described the camps as ” vocational training centers.”

The U.N. Human Rights Office in 2022 found accusations of rights violations in Xinjiang “credible” and said China may have committed crimes against humanity in the region.

Larson in his statement also cited “credible” reports of China subjecting Tibetans to coercive labor, separation of children from their families, erosion of cultural and religious freedoms, and detention for peaceful political protests.

He urged “unfettered and meaningful access” to Xinjiang and Tibet for independent observers.

[…]

  • Axefanatic@aussie.zoneEnglish
    71·
    30 days ago

    Australia has been a melting pot of nationalities for some time, and I have grown up knowing people from many different cultures. The thing I find amusing about it all is that the most racist people I know, are all immigrants or first generation Aussies. And not a few of those are from various Asian countries.

    • Ilandar@aussie.zoneEnglish
      22·
      30 days ago

      There’s a name for this kind of phenomenon that I’ve forgotten, but essentially it repeats with every wave of new migrants. They move here, get racially vilified by the existing Australian community for being different, then slowly pick up the same whiteness mentality over the next few decades so that when the next wave of migrants occur the previous wave is often among the most aggressively racist towards them.

      • goodthanks@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        29 days ago

        To call it whiteness mentality is missing the fact that racism is a trait that can exist amongst any nationality. It may be predominantly white in Australia, but we have a white colonial history. Other non-white countries have it too.

        • Ilandar@aussie.zoneEnglish
          1·
          24 days ago

          It sounds like you don’t understand what whiteness theory is. It is not an argument that only white people can be racist.

          • goodthanks@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            23 days ago

            If you had mentioned whiteness theory in your comment then I would have known what you were referring to. Based on your actual comment, my interpretation was not unreasonable.

            • Ilandar@aussie.zoneEnglish
              11·
              18 days ago

              The word “whiteness” is commonly associated with whiteness theory and whiteness studies. It’s not commonly associated with whatever you were talking about.

      • beengEnglish
        11·
        29 days ago

        From chatgpt after I gave it your comment…

        The phenomenon you’re describing is often referred to as “ethnic succession” or “the ladder of social mobility” in the context of racial and immigrant integration.

        This process has been observed historically in the U.S., Canada, and the UK as well, with each generation gradually shifting its identity and aligning with majority cultural values, while still carrying the trauma or prejudice they once faced.