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Australians at risk of arbitrary arrests in China, experts say
While it is impossible to link a recent death sentence in China back to the rising tension with Australia, two experts are cautioning travellers against a risk of arbitrary arrests.
Naomi Neilson
Many have speculated that the death sentence of Australian Karm Gilespie, accused of attempting to smuggle out crystal methamphetamine, is linked to the rising tensions between the two nations which have only grown more strained in recent weeks.
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There are growing speculations that Australians, who are not caught up in any criminal activities, could be at risk of “arbitrary detention” in China, resulting in the government of Australia’s decision to upgrade its travel advisory earlier this month.
Australian director at Human Rights Watch and adjunct lecturer at UNSW Law, Elaine Pearson, said: “Australia was right to upgrade that travel advice because there already is an Australian arbitrarily detained in China and we know very little about the case.”
Ms Pearson is referring to Yang HengJun, a blogger and pro-democracy writer – born in China but became an Australian citizen in early 2000s – who was arrested on China’s suspicions of alleged espionage in 2019 on his return into the country.
“The Chinese government has all these vague security provisions on its books, which means that anyone who is critical of the government can run afoul of these provisions. And we have concerns that people are often held in pretty miserable conditions when it’s for national security crimes,” Ms Pearson warned travellers.
Ms Pearson added some conditions included being held in unauthorised places, being kept in isolation, sleep deprivation, and being withheld from access to legal support.
With Australian citizens living and working and travelling to other places, Ms Pearson warned there is a real concern that in countries like China, where there are broad and vague national security laws, “these laws can be applied against anyone”.
Her work at the Human Rights Watch is focused on cases where people are arrested for political reasons rather than for crimes, such as drugs or assault. In some instances the Australian government will say they are not going to interfere.
“That’s all very well and good, but when people are being arrested for political reasons, the only way to resolve that is also by raising these cases through diplomatic channels. Karm [Gilespie’s] case is slightly different from the cases we work on at HRW,” Ms Pearson said.
“But where people are being detained for political reasons, then usually making noise helps. It’s really important to ensure that foreign governments understand it matters.
“Australia shouldn’t just speak out where its own citizens run afoul of those laws, but also speak up where local activists, journalists, government critics are being prosecuted with those offences.”
