Nor did the substance of the visit make up for the lack of style. Excited speculation in the media about the prospect of Jiang announcing a $15 billion contract for Australia to supply natural gas to China came to nothing. Instead, the Chinese President merely remarked that Australia was welcome to take part in the competition.

Despite the tightest security ever provided for an overseas leader visiting Australia, Jiang was pursued by Tibetans and pro-Tibetan demonstrators at every point along his secretive itinerary, which covered Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Port Douglas. Members of the Taiwanese and East Turkestani communities, as well as Chinese pro-democracy activists, also took part in the protests, along with China’s most famous dissident, Wei Jing Sheng.

Highlights of the protests included an attempt by Greens Senator Bob Brown and ATC International Liaison Officer Dorji Dolma to hand deliver a letter to Jiang during an official parliamentary lunch at Parliament House in Canberra. A boatload of ATC activists also successfully ambushed the Chinese President while he was strolling on the lawns of Admiralty House on Sydney Harbour.

The government, however, remained unmoved by the evidence of Jiang Zemin’s unpopularity and by the level of community concern about human rights and Tibet. Prime Minister Howard does not appear to have raised human rights directly with President Jiang, although there was some discussion between Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Chinese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi. According to Mr Howard, “Both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress made during the human rights dialogue”. There was no mention of Tibet.

Nor did Opposition Leader Kim Beazley or Foreign Affairs spokesperson Laurie Brereton raise the issue of Tibet in their meeting with Jiang, although they too claimed to have discussed human rights in general terms.

Police behaviour during the visit brought the issue of human rights closer to home. Security personnel were clearly under instructions to protect Jiang from seeing or hearing demonstrators, with Tibetan flags and photos of the Dalai Lama considered absolute taboos. This undemocratic policy led to several ugly incidents, including a police officer stamping on a Dalai Lama poster, and police snatching a microphone in the middle of a peaceful speech by a member of the East Turkestani community.

[This article first appeared in the October 1999 issue of ATC News]