Human rights in China

I like China. I have travelled around there several times, I speak a little Chinese and my girlfriend is Chinese. I think they have made some great progress and I look forward to more reform and a strong China in the future as a good thing for the world.

But that doesn’t mean we need to pretend that China is perfect. It isn’t. And it’s worthwhile remembering the outstanding problems and make sure that we’re standing up for human rights. To this end it is worth noting the Human Rights Torch Relay which is attempting to raise the issue of Chinese human right’s abuse in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics. The torch will reach Sydney on Saturdy 27 October 2007.

One of the problems with Chinese human rights is their persecution of Falun Gong. Personally, I think Falun Gong is wacky… like a Chinese version of Scientology. But that doesn’t justify government repression, and I think we should defend the rights of people to believe in whatever wacky religion they like.

I plan to be in Beijing on 08/08/08 (8 is a lucky number in China) to see the Olympics and enjoy the celebration of a rising super-power. Hopefully I will be in a country that is listening to the concerns of the world and moving towards a more progressive political and legal system.

Dan Farmilo for Richmond

Richmond is a seat based in north-eastern NSW. It is a rural area with the trendy hippy towns of Nimbin and Byron Bay, which makes it a strange mix of Green & National voters. It is one of the few seats that the ALP gained in the 2004 election.

The LDP is proud to announce that Daniel Farmilo will be our candidate for Richmond. Dan is a civil libertarian who is worried about our loss of freedoms in the name of “security” and the excessive growth in government. He currently works in the financial services sector. You can read about Dan’s campaign at his campaign blog.

LDP & gay rights

Following the debate in the “A Current Affair v Lisa Milat” thread I promised to open up a dedicated discussion to the issue of gay rights.

The LDP’s position is that sexuality should not be a political issue. We believe that the government should have nothing to do with your love life. There should be no government discrimination based on sexuality and there should be equal treatment of all people regardless of who they sleep with.

Individual freedom and equality under the law doesn’t harm anybody else. If you don’t like gay people, then you are free to not associate with them. If a school wants to employ only straight teachers they should be free to do so. Likewise, if gay people want to establish a “gay-only” club that bans straight people, they should be free to do so.

Because the LDP wants to separate sexuality from politics, it is not relevant whether homosexuality is “normal”. People are free to have their own opinions on “normal”, so long as they don’t use the government to enforce their preferences on other people.

W.A. campaign launch

The LDP is launching our Western Australian campaign next week and you are invited.

When? Tuesday 30 October 2007, 6pm-8pm

Where? Rydges Hotel (cnr Hay and King St, Perth)

Who? Main speaker will be Peter Whelan (LDP W.A. Senate candidate)

Peter will be talking about “getting the government out of your pocket and out of your face” and this is a great opportunity to meet Peter & other LDP candidates, and talk about the prospect of smaller government, lower tax and individual freedoms. Light refreshments will be served on arrival.

If you want to contact Peter Whelan, he can be reached on 0416 275 850 or info@ldp.org.au.