Anthony Albanese to protest guilty verdict for Aussie Gordon Ng in Hong Kong

Anthony Albanese will lobby Chinese Premier Li Qiang on behalf of an Australian citizen facing a life sentence on national security charges.

Gordon Ng. Picture: YouTube

Anthony Albanese will lobby ­Chinese Premier Li Qiang on behalf of an Australian citizen facing a life sentence after being convicted by a Hong Kong Court on ­national security charges.

Dual Australian-Hong Kong national Gordon Ng was among 14 pro-democracy activists found guilty of subversion by the territory’s High Court on Thursday under laws introduced by Beijing to smash dissent in the former British colony.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was “deeply concerned” at the verdicts and would raise Mr Ng’s plight with the Chinese government “at the highest levels”.

His conviction comes just weeks ahead of the Chinese No. 2 leader’s visit to Australia for talks with the Prime Minister on a raft of difficult bilateral issues.

In an apparent goodwill gesture ahead of the trip, Beijing moved on Thursday to drop bans on Australian beef shipments from five meatworks in NSW and Queensland.

Two days earlier, the federal government’s Anti-Dumping Commission quietly delayed a report that was set to recommend an extension of tariffs on Chinese railway wheels.

The move means Industry Minister Ed Husic won’t have to sign off on an extension of the tariffs to prevent “material injury to Australian manufacturers” until July 16 – well after Mr Li’s visit.

Chinese trade bans continue to apply to two Australian meatworks, as well as Australian lobster exporters.

Mr Ng, who went to high school in Sydney, was arrested in 2021 for his involvement in an unofficial pre-election ballot that authorities labelled a “vicious plot” to paralyse the territory.

The convicted activists will be sentenced at a later date, and face prison terms ranging between three years and life.

Senator Wong said: “The Australian government raises consular and human rights concerns directly with the Hong Kong and Chinese governments regularly and at the highest levels. We will continue to do so, including in the case of Mr Ng.

“We also continue to request consular access to Mr Ng from Hong Kong authorities.”

Anthony Albanese with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Shanghai last November. Picture: AFP

She said Australia had expressed strong objections to Hong Kong authorities over the use of the territory’s Beijing-imposed national security laws to clamp down on opposition groups and pro-democracy figures.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the Coalition was “appalled” at the guilty verdicts, urging the government to pile pressure on Beijing over the matter.

Premier Li is expected to visit Canberra and Perth from June 16-18. He will meet with political and business leaders and is expected to visit a resources project in Western Australia.