The Chinese Consulate in Brisbane sent letters to members of Queensland's State Parliament intimating that there could be trade reprisals if they attended a Human Rights Torch Relay in Brisbane.
ALP State member for Indooroopilly, Ronan Lee, who ran in the relay and spoke at a ceremony after, said he and every other members 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 Piaza, Southbank, "and are great supporters of the work the organisers of the Torch Relay are undertaking right around the world."
The Human Rights Torch Relay, a global initiative that was launched in Athens in August this year, has since travelled through most major capital cities of Europe.
On Saturday November 3, the Torch was welcomed to Brisbane with a relay through the central business district and a ceremony in Southbank.
Speakers included Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett, Greens candidate Larissa Waters, Dean of Brisbane Bishop John Parkes, Taiwanese Professor CL Chiou, the head of the Queensland Vietnamese Association Dr Bui, Burmese Patrick Cho and Brisbane lawyer Stefan Briggs, who spoke particularly in support of recently detained Lawyer Gao.
Performers at the ceremony included soprano Maggie Noonan, and her famous daughter Katie.
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.
"There is an opportunity the Olympics in Beijing for China to take a good hard look at itself as Australia has had to do many, many times," said Mr Lee.
"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," he said.
Bishop John Parkes said he joined in the call to the 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 for 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 practice freedom of religion and freedom of belief, to support human rights and those who promote democracy," Senator Bartlett said.
Senator Bartlett said human rights must be supported at all times and not only when it is easy to do so.
"It is no good supporting human rights only when it is convenient, and being quiet when it is inconvenient.
"It is precisely then that we have to speak up and speak out," he said.
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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