The Wire

In 1989, the world witnessed Chinese tanks and troops attacking unarmed students demonstrating in Tianamen Square, Beijing. After Tianmen, many countries condemned the government’s actions and some took part in placing economic sanctions on China. However, the political will of most of these countries disapeared in light of the importance of access to China’s vast markets, and excess supply of cheap labour. Still, China’s human rights record is shocking. China executes over 10,000 people per year, far more than the rest of the world combined, and holds at least 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners in labour camps. Ironically, Falun Gong meditation was initially recognised by the Chinese Government as being beneficial to health, but this endorsement ended once the organisation began to demand greater political freedom in China. Despite these blatant abuses of human rights, the Australian government is on the verge of signing a free trade agreement with China. Such an agreement would closely link the two economies – which already process $25 billion dollars in annual trade. Ed Giles spoke to Dr Dennis Woodward, Senior Lecturer in the Politics Department at Monash University.