The Wire

Negotiations between Australia and China over the development of Free Trade Agreement are continuing, despite some local groups harbouring some major concerns about the virtual absence talk about human rights abuses occurring in that country. The Australian Government has long maintained that trade negotiations are no place for discussing the issue of human rights. But one Hong Kong academic disputes this – and he says the Australian government should in fact push to include a clause on human rights in the treaty with China. Phil Chan is a visiting Fellow at the Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy at the Australian National University. After giving a talk in Sydney on the issue, he spoke with The Wire.