[Celestial Empire] Notice of Protest to Australia

[Alexander]

Embassy of the Celestial Empire, Canberra
Ministry of the Outer Realms
EXECUTIVE YUAN
CELESTIAL EMPIRE

Your Excellency,

On behalf and at the request of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Celestial Empire I hereby notify you of their protest of the recently organized memorial within the territory of Hong Kong without prior consultation with either the Hong Kong Special Administration or the Ministry of the Outer Realms of the Celestial Empire, both of which should have been consulted. While Hong Kong remembers those brave souls who gave their lives in the defence of the island during the Japanese invasion and they would have gladly taken part in organizing such a ceremony, they can only disapprove of the unilateral encroachment on Hong Kong sovereignty. It is only out of respect for the fallen that the Hong Kong Police were not instructed to disband the ceremony in line with standing law on the organizations of large events on public ground.

The Minister of the Outer Realms has talked the Chief Executive down from pursuing more action than this protest, however I must inform you that any event organized on any public territory within Hong Kong must be discussed at least one month in advance so proper arrangements can be made. Both for the preservation of law and order as well as the security of Hong Kong and Australian citizens alike. This notification period is required so that the Special Administration can keep the area clear at the time of the event and coordinate with the Hong Kong Police Force on security, the Hong Kong Fire Services Department on fire, health and other safety matters, and any other Hong Kong or Imperial organizations that may be needed depending on the scale of the event.

Future events without authorization from the Chief Executive on any public land or private land where the number of attendees is expected to exceed 1 per 5m2 will be dissolved by the Hong Kong Police Force.

Sincerely,
Zhang Junsai,
Her Celestial Majesty's Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia

Classification: None
Recipient: The Honourable Kevin Rudd, MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs Owen
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[Owen]

​

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: TOP SECRET​

20 May 2007

Dear Ambassador Junsai, I must express my sincere disappointment that the Celestial Empire has taken the measure to protest the recent Anzac Day Dawn Service which was held in Hong Kong. This is an annual event which has not had any issues previously with the Chinese Government. Clearly, with a recent change in regime within China, your laws have changed and your wilingness to engage with the region has changed. We do not believe that the event exceeded your requirements for 1 person per 5m2. It was a very small ceremony with the only Australian officials in attendance being the Consul-General as well as some veterans who reside in Hong Kong, as well as being outside in a public space. Indeed, it was probably one of the smallest Anzac Day ceremonies held in the world. Australia strives to have very healthy relationships with all our neighbours in the Indo-Pacific region and indeed we were looking forward to having a strong relationship with the Celestial Empire, built on trade and in the spirit of cooperation. However, your decision to take protest with this event demonstrates to us that the Celestial Empire is not serious about any relationship with Australia or honouring the Australian lives sacrificed in pushing back against Imperial Japan across Asia and is in fact, rescinding back to the authoritarianism of the past. We hope you can reconsider your diplomatic approach to Australia in the future. Yours sincerely, Kevin Rudd.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

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Alexander