Sydney Award Ceremony held by Chinese Dissidents
and Rights Defenders

David Kilgour and David Matas

As leaders of twenty-one Asian and regional nations meet in Sydney for the APEC Summit meeting this week, a group of Chinese dissidents and rights defenders held an award ceremony to honor outstanding Mainland Chinese and overseas democracy activists and rights defenders.

Chinese leader Hu Jintao arrived in Sydney on Tuesday night. According to reports he would attend a banquet in the Sydney government building hosted by the governor of New South Wales. Not far from there in the Parliament House, a group of overseas Chinese and non-Chinese hosted the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Foundation's 2007 award ceremony. The Chinese government expressed dissatisfaction, and formally protested with the Australians requesting this activity "targeting the Chinese government" be cancelled. The Australian government and the organizers paid no attention to the pressure from the Chinese government, and held the award ceremony as planned.

Eight awards were presented, each recipient received a certificate of merit and award money of more than $1000 U.S. Among those awarded were Beijing professor Ding Zilin representing the group Tiananmen Mother in receiving the "Brilliant Humanitarian" award; Chinese author Liu Xiaobo received the "Courageous Conscience" award; former Canadian Secretary of State for Asia Pacific David Kilgour and human rights attorney David Matas received the "Defender's of Justice" award; founder of the Chinese Freedom and Democracy Party and sentenced to twenty years in prison, Beijing Languages College instructor Hu Shigen received he "Democracy Fighter" award; Heilongjiang Province farmers Yang Chunlin and Wang Guilin received the "Citizens Fight against Tyranny" award; Liu Chengjun, who broke through Chinese media censorship was awarded the "Leave Marks to History" award; those Chinese citizens who in Beijing in 1989 resisted violent suppression and received life or death and are still serving their sentences received the "June Fourth Resist Tyranny Fighter" award; Hunan Modern Business editor Shi Tao and Boxun News domestic reporter Jie Mu shared the "Media Freedom" award.

Truly Representing the Voice of the Chinese People

David Matas

Of these award recipients, the Chinese people are all in Chinese prisons or inside of China and unable to personally come to receive the award. Only the two Canadian human rights advocates, Kilgour and Matas, could attend the award ceremony to receive their awards. When speaking Matas said: "Sometimes we hear that people like us are considered "Anti-China," but coming here and attending this award ceremony, we hear the voice of the true representatives of the Chinese people."

David Kilgour

Former Canadian Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) Kilgour spoke of the World War II era well-known German pacifist Niemoeller and shared a famous quote of his to emphasize the importance of the democracy movement around the world and rights defenders uniting and fighting together and looking after one another.

He said: "This quote is: First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.""

Kilgour and Matas have been conducting investigations into the persecution of Falun Gong. They have dug deep to uncover the truth and presented a number of reports.

Reuters reported that the Chinese government lodged an official protest against this award ceremony with Australia authorities, requesting the ceremony be cancelled, but the Australian authorities refused the Chinese government's request.

Wei Jingsheng Almost Unable to Obtain an Australia Visa

Wei Jingsheng

This award ceremony's speaker and honored guest, well-known Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng explained to Voice of America that he felt the pressure of the Chinese government firsthand. He said: "I almost did not get an Australia visa. Previously when I did not have travel documents and I wanted to come to Australia, the Australian Government gave me the proper documentation. But this time I have travel document, but I still had to work hard and only then did I receive a visa. Of course there are also some friends who did not obtain visas. Friends from all walks of life have all observed the enormous influence the Chinese government has on the Australian government. But no matter what, we have made it here and we will step forward to speak out for Chinese people's human rights, and so that China's economy can develop on a more normal course, and not on a deformed path."

The award ceremony's other award speaker, New Zealand University's visiting professor Wang Juntao said, the Chinese government involves itself in matters that extend into other countries, they really meddle too much. He said: "The Chinese government ought to know, this is Australia. The Chinese government is always talking about its 'peaceful rise', that China's rise will not be a threat to other countries, but then they want to bring the Chinese government's ways of dealing with dissidents to Australia, in that case you are jeopardizing the security of the government system. That would be destroying another's form of government, and in contradiction to the peaceful rise theory.

Wang Juntao said, "the Chinese government ought to permit its own citizens to express their opinions about problems in China's development. They should permit it anywhere and through all channels, as long as it is peaceful, honest, rational, and responsible. Chinese government should also respectful of other countries law and governmental system. He said, "Actually in Australia, if you request someone to ban a gathering, then you are interfering with Australia's internal affairs, furthermore, you are requesting others to revise the principles of their form of government."

English version provided by t he Wei Jingsheng Foundation