Punish China’s human rights atrocity: Morrison

The former PM wants the Albanese government to impose sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights abuses against Uighur minorities.

Scott Morrison wants the Albanese government to consider sanctions against China over treatment of Uighur minorities.

Scott Morrison has called on the Albanese government to consider sanctions against Chinese government officials over human rights abuses against Uighur minorities under the same Magnitsky-style laws used to sanction Russian officials over the invasion of Ukraine.

The call from the former prime minister to employ Australia’s Autonomous Sanctions Regime against Chinese officials in Xinjiang, which would include the freezing of assets and travel bans, comes amid a thawing in the relationship between Canberra and Beijing.

In an address in Tokyo to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China on Friday morning, Mr Morrison will link human rights violations in China with security in the Indo-Pacific, claiming human rights issues could never be properly addressed if Chinese hegemony was allowed to take root in the region.

Mr Morrison will also warn against being seduced by Beijing followed the resumption of diplomatic dialogue, saying Australia needed to expect and demand an end to trade sanctions rather than be “thankful” to China for lifting them.

He will tell the symposium that the Magnitsky laws introduced in 2021 with bipartisan support from Labor, should be considered against Chinese officials in Xinjiang where the UN had found extreme human rights abuses including torture that could amount to international crimes.

Former prime minister Scott Morrison reacts during House of Representatives question time at Parliament House.

Since the Magnitsky-style laws were introduced, Australia has levelled sanctions against 68 individuals and three entities, predominantly targeting Russian officials, Iran and Myanmar.

Mr Morrison cited the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights report from last August and its assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, which he said concluded that serious crimes against humanity had occurred.

“They found allegations of ­patterns of torture or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention, were credible, as were allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender-based violence,” Mr Morrison will say in the speech provided to The Australian in advance.

“The question naturally arises whether our new sanctions regime should be applied to any Chinese nationals for human rights abuses, especially in Xinjiang.

“There is certainly credible and actionable evidence that has been gathered against such individuals.

“It is now a matter for the new government to consider.”

Mr Morrison acknowledged that such a decision would have to be taken carefully, with wide ­consultation in the region if it were to occur. And there were reasons for not going down this path, including potential retaliation against Australians held in Chinese prisons.

“While it would be naive to believe that targeted sanctions of Chinese officials in Xinjiang or higher up would lead to the elimination of such abuses, this argument alone does negate the merit of such sanctions,” Mr Morrison will say.

“As a former prime minister, I understand there are always practical issues to consider within the relationship, not the least being the practical issues of possible impacts on Australian citizens being held by the Chinese government.

“However, one argument that should not prevail is that we would not progress such sanctions for fear of political, trade or diplomatic reprisals from the Chinese ­government. The application of Australia’s human rights ­sanctions regime is reserved for the most egregious situations of international ­concern.”

Mr Morrison’s call follows similar concerns raised by opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham who late last year called on the Albanese government to take a stronger stands on human rights abuses in China.

Mr Birmingham wrote to Foreign Minister Penny Wong in November raising the possibility of levelling Magnitsky-style sanctions against Chinese officials.

Mr Morrison is not critical of the Labor government in his speech and says he welcomes a ­return to diplomatic dialogue ­between Canberra and Beijing. Labor has sought to blame Mr Morrison for the breakdown in the relationship amid China’s trade war against Australia.

“I am pleased that diplomatic dialogue has resumed between Australia and China,” he will say.

“It should never have been terminated by the Chinese government in the first place. I will be more pleased when the illegal trade sanctions are removed. This is not something we should be thankful for; it is something we should demand and expect.

“The resumption of dialogue has occurred because Australia took a strong stand.

“We took action with friends like Japan, India, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and rallied like-­minded countries through initiatives such as the Quad and AUKUS to call out the bullying of the Chinese ­government.

“Going forward I am pleased the new Australian government can take advantage of China’s change in tactics, but they must be careful not to change our posture or resolve, or give the impression of such a change.

“President Xi (Jinping) may have changed his tactics, but his intent is still the same. You can be sure that President Xi is keeping his ‘Chinese Dream’ alive.”

Mr Morrison refers in his speech to a metaphor that former US secretary of state Richard ­Armitage used to describe a ­meeting between Mr Xi and then Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2014, in which he said each leader “looked like they were smelling each other’s socks” during the meeting.

“Going forward Australia must continue to be prepared to ‘smell China’s socks’,” Mr Morrison will say.