The Chinese Consulate in Brisbane has disappointed Queensland State Parliamentary members by sending them letters intimating that there could be trade reprisals if they attended any Human Rights Torch Relay events in Queensland.
State ALP member for Indooroopilly Ronan Lee, who ran in the relay and spoke at the Torch welcoming ceremony in Brisbane on Saturday November 3, said he and every other member of Queensland's State Parliament had received a letter from the Chinese Consul General saying in "very strong language" they "should not attend the relay".
"The letter that he wrote [the Chinese consul] was very thinly veiled to suggest that there could perhaps be some trade ramifications for members of parliament attending today," he said.
Mr Lee said that he had come to the event to tell people that there was considerable support for the Human Rights Torch Relay and what it was trying to achieve within the Queensland Parliament.
"I am here to let you know that there are many members of the Queensland State Parliament who share your views," Mr Lee told a crowd in the Suncorp Piazza, Southbank.
Steve Dickson, the Liberal member for Kawana on the Sunshine Coast, said he "was disappointed" by the Chinese consulate's behaviour.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters at a Human Rights Torch Relay and ceremony at Mooloolaba, Mr Dickson said members of his family had fought in the 1940s to maintain the freedoms that Australian people enjoy.
"So I can say what I like about politicians and so can you," Mr Dickson said, "and I think that has got spread through the whole world."
The Human Rights Torch − global initiative that was launched in Athens in August this year − has since travelled through most major capital cities of Europe.
Mr Lee said Chinese officials needed to learn to take criticism and drew an analogy with Olympic athletes saying they would never have obtained Olympic heights if they had not been able to take criticism.
"They will all tell you that the difference between a winner and a loser is the ability to criticise yourself and improve yourself," he said.
"You [Chinese officials] need to look at what is going on in your country and you need to look at your abysmal human rights record, and you need to change," Mr Lee said.
Bishop John Parkes said he joined the call to the Chinese Consul General "to convey our distress at the current stage of human affairs".
"I will call on those who influence the affairs of China to address issues of human rights, of religious freedom from persecution and to fully take their place in the global world as a presence of progress, as a presence of justice, as a presence of freedom and a presence of truth and as a respecter of human dignity."
Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett, who is also a member of the group initiating the Torch, the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, told the audience that the lead-up to the Olympics provided a critical moment to effect change in China.
The opportunity here is to speak out and say to China "no more, stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and allow people to practise freedom of religion and freedom of belief, to support human rights and those who promote democracy," he said.
Senator Bartlett said it was no good supporting when it was convenient and being quiet when it is inconvenient.
"It is precisely then that we have to speak up and speak out," he said.
Speakers at events in Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Coolum and Noosa on the Sunshine Coast were united in supporting the torch.
The Liberal member for Fisher, Peter Slipper, thanked the organisers of the Torch for reminding Australians that more work needs to be done so that the "most populous country in the world would enjoy the same civil and human rights that we do in this country".
Mayor of Maroochy Joe Natoli said the torch flame was "a symbol of hope" for Chinese people.
"Today is a message to this regime that we would like them to move toward a democratic country where they value people and restore faith and dignity," Mr Natoli said.
"It is not just about the economy but it is about where we want to take humanity."
The Human Rights Torch will continue its journey around Australia over the next month and a half before travelling to New Zealand and then on to Africa.
Visit the website www.humanrightstorch.org for more details.
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