We petition the Australian Government to:

• withdraw diplomatic privileges applicable to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (‘HKETO’) in Australia and its personnel;
• declare the personnel of the HKETO in Australia as persona non grata; and 
• order the closure of the HKETO in Australia.

HKETOs around the world have historically played the role of promoting trade between Hong Kong and the countries in which it was and is located. Unfortunately, this has changed since the implementation of a National Security Law on Hong Kong (‘HKNSL’) by China in 2020. 

There is now strong evidence of HKETOs being deployed in espionage and transnational repression activities. In particular, two men, including a senior member of HKETO in London and a British civil servant recruited by him, were convicted in Great Britain for assisting a foreign intelligence service (https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/cps-secures-convictions-hong-kong-unlawful-surveillance-case Their actions included surveillance and intimidation of leading Hong Kong dissidents and new Hong Kong migrants in Britain.

We would be surprised if the above was an outlier, whether in Britain or in other parts of the world in which HKETOs are located, including in Australia. It defies reason that such acts of espionage and transnational repression by the HKETO would take place in isolation.

The Sydney HKETO’s own public materials further show that its activities are not confined to trade promotion. Its website contains numerous official letters to Australian and New Zealand media outlets, including the ABC, The Australian, Channel 9, the Australian Financial Review and Stuff.co.nz, defending the National Security Law, police bounties against overseas activists, prosecutions over public assemblies, restrictions on electoral rights, and actions against press freedom. These publications amount to anti-freedom and anti-democracy political propaganda directed at local public discourse in Australia.

Australia is a country in which a number of leading Hong Kong dissidents, as well as a growing number of Hong Kongers migrants, currently reside. As a country committed to democratic values and the safety of all its residents, Australia should not allow the HKETO and its personnel to continue operating, given the HKETO’s now sullied track record. The HKETO’s continuing presence in Australia threatens the country’s national security, and is unsafe for Hong Kong dissidents and migrant who now call Australia home.

We therefore ask the Australian Government to take action on terms as set out in the petition above.