Chinese ambassador to Australia Zhang Junsai (章均賽) wrote to Labor backbencher Michael Danby urging against his attendance at a pro-Tibet rally, saying it was meant to “tarnish the image of the Chinese government and impair China-Australia relations,” an Australian official said.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith congratulated Danby for “politely” resisting the request.
“For myself, I think Mr Danby made the right decision and I support him fully,” Smith told reporters.
PHOTO: EPA
“A diplomat is not entitled to somehow seek to direct an elected official or an elected Member of Parliament in how he or she might conduct himself or herself,” he said. “They’re entitled to put a view, but they’re not entitled to try and seek to direct.”
Pro-Tibet protesters tried to break through a police line guarding the Chinese embassy yesterday as they gathered in Canberra to mark the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against China.
A dozen activists tried to breach the line during the march in support of Tibetan independence and there was a heated exchange between demonstrators and an embassy official when he came out to photograph the group.
Police told reporters they made four arrests for breach of the peace, including one man who threw his shoes at the building. About 150 people converged on Parliament House ahead of the march for a peaceful rally in support of Tibetan independence from China. Bearing flags and banners, they were joined by representatives from Australia’s major political parties.
Greens leader Bob Brown called on Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to declare what he said was widespread Australian support for Tibetan autonomy.
“What we need is political leaders ... who have got the gumption to reflect that Australian call to the Chinese dictators to give Tibet back its freedom, its peace and its rights,” Brown told the rally.
“Today is a day to celebrate the strength of the Tibetan people and their perseverance, and to commit ourselves to continuing the struggle,” Tibetan community spokesman Tsewang Thupten said. “We are also commemorating the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and millions who are still under the Chinese occupation.”
Rudd won praise in Australia during a visit to Beijing last April when he raised concerns about human rights in Tibet and urged the Chinese government to hold talks with exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
The Philippines yesterday said its coast guard would acquire 40 fast patrol craft from France, with plans to deploy some of them in disputed areas of the South China Sea. The deal is the “largest so far single purchase” in Manila’s ongoing effort to modernize its coast guard, with deliveries set to start in four years, Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan told a news conference. He declined to provide specifications for the vessels, which Manila said would cost 25.8 billion pesos (US$440 million), to be funded by development aid from the French government. He said some of the vessels would
Hundreds of thousands of Guyana citizens living at home and abroad would receive a payout of about US$478 each after the country announced it was distributing its “mind-boggling” oil wealth. The grant of 100,000 Guyanese dollars would be available to any citizen of the South American country aged 18 and older with a valid passport or identification card. Guyanese citizens who normally live abroad would be eligible, but must be in Guyana to collect the payment. The payout was originally planned as a 200,000 Guyanese dollar grant for each household in the country, but was reframed after concerns that some citizens, including
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
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