WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected accusations from Beijing that his country is “plagued by systemic racism and hate crimes” after an Australian diplomat led a group of Western nations in renewing concerns about human rights violations in China.
“When it comes to China, we’ve said we’ll cooperate where we can, we’ll disagree where we must, and we’ll engage in our national interest, and we’ve raised issues of human rights with China,” Albanese told reporters on Thursday as he arrived in the Pacific Island nation of Samoa for a Commonwealth leaders’ summit.
A day earlier, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian had denounced a statement made by 15 nations to the United Nations General Assembly this week — presented by a top Australian envoy — underscoring “ongoing concerns” about “serious human rights violations” in Xinjiang and Tibet.
James Larsen, Australia’s ambassador to the U.N., urged China to “uphold the international human rights obligations that it has voluntarily assumed” by releasing “all individuals arbitrarily detained in both Xinjiang and Tibet, and urgently clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing family members.”
The statement amounted to “political manipulation under the pretext of human rights,” Jian said Wednesday.
Singling out Australia for rebuke, Jian said the country was “long plagued by systemic racism and hate crimes” and should resolve its own affairs rather than criticizing China’s.
Albanese said Australia would “always stand up for Australia’s interests” and had raised the matter of human rights with Beijing in a "consistent and clear way.”
The Chinese government launched in 2017 a campaign of assimilation in the northwestern Xinjiang region — home to 11 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities — that has included mass detentions, alleged political indoctrination, alleged family separations and alleged forced labor among other methods.
More than 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic minorities are estimated to have been held in extralegal internment camps. The Chinese government at the time described the camps as ” vocational training centers.”
The U.N. Human Rights Office in 2022 found accusations of rights violations in Xinjiang “credible” and said China may have committed crimes against humanity in the region.
Larson in his statement also cited “credible” reports of China subjecting Tibetans to coercive labor, separation of children from their families, erosion of cultural and religious freedoms, and detention for peaceful political protests.
He urged “unfettered and meaningful access” to Xinjiang and Tibet for independent observers.
“No country has a perfect human rights record, but no country is above fair scrutiny of its human rights obligations,” Larson added.
In response, Jian decried what he said was Australia’s hypocrisy, citing the country’s treatment of refugees, immigrants and Indigenous people.
“Australian soldiers have committed abhorrent crimes in Afghanistan and other countries during their military operations overseas,” Jian said.
Jian appeared to be referring to allegations that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians between 2005 and 2016, which led to a number of senior military officers recently being stripped of their medals. Australia's past policy of refusing to allow asylum seekers who attempt to reach its shores by boat to ever settle in the country is also often cited by China as tarnishing the country's standing on human rights.
Beijing’s economic ties with Canberra are thawing after several years of official and unofficial trade blocks. But the relationship remains tense on matters of human rights and geopolitics as China becomes militarily more belligerent in the Asia-Pacific region and Australia grows closer to its Western-intelligence sharing partners, particularly the U.S.
Chinese Premier Qiang Li said during a state visit to Australia in June that he had agreed with Albanese to “properly manage” their nations’ differences.
However Justin Bassi, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said China's rebuke this week was an “overreaction" intended to warn Canberra to pull its punches.
“By limiting all but the most unavoidable criticisms of China to statements delivered by officials rather than ministers, Australia was offering Beijing a compromise,” Bassi said. “Instead of taking that as a win, China is biting back hard.”
Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk contributed to this report from Melbourne, Australia and Keiran Smith contributed from Newcastle, Australia.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese react during the opening ceremony for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Apia, Samoa, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft/Pool)
Australia's leader rejects Beijing's claims that his country is rife with 'racism and hate crimes'
Australia's leader rejects Beijing's claims that his country is rife with 'racism and hate crimes'
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gestures during a press conference in Logan City, near Brisbane, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (Darren England/AAP Image via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive.
Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne about one hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop, which prevented planes from taking off.
Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 1,447 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 28 flights canceled.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said Dallas-Fort Worth and Charlotte, North Carolina, saw the greatest number of delays. Washington, New York, Chicago and Miami experienced considerably fewer delays.
Significant rain and snow was expected in the Pacific Northwest at least into Christmas Day. Showers and thunderstorms were developing in the South. Freezing rain was reported in the Mid-Atlantic region near Baltimore and Washington, and snow was falling in New York.
Because the holiday travel period lasts weeks, airports and airlines typically have smaller peak days than they do during the rush around Thanksgiving, but the grind of one hectic day followed by another takes a toll on flight crews. And any hiccups — a winter storm or a computer outage — can snowball into massive disruptions.
That is how Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers in December 2022, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike.
Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. That is especially true for smaller budget airlines that have fewer flights and fewer options for rebooking passengers. Only the largest airlines, including American, Delta and United, have “interline agreements” that let them put stranded customers on another carrier’s flights.
This will be the first holiday season since a Transportation Department rule took effect that requires airlines to give customers an automatic cash refund for a canceled or significantly delayed flight. Most air travelers were already eligible for refunds, but they often had to request them.
Passengers still can ask to get rebooked, which is often a better option than a refund during peak travel periods. That’s because finding a last-minute flight on another airline tends to be expensive.
Just before 7 a.m. Eastern time, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the U.S. at the airline’s request. American had reported technical trouble affecting its entire system.
American said in an email that the problem was caused by a vendor technology issue that “impacted systems needed to release flights.”
An airline spokesperson said Tuesday was not a peak travel day for the airline — with about 2,000 fewer flights than the busiest days — so the airline has somewhat of a buffer to manage the delays.
Cirium said American had 3,320 domestic flights scheduled for Tuesday, and 581 international departures from or returning to the U.S. from abroad.
The groundings happened as millions of travelers were expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers through Jan. 2.
Airlines expect to have their busiest days on Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up.
About 90% of Americans traveling far from home over the holidays will be in cars, according to AAA.
“Airline travel is just really high right now, but most people do drive to their destinations, and that is true for every holiday,” AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said.
Gasoline prices are similar to last year. The nationwide average Thursday was $3.04 a gallon, down from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA. Charging an electric vehicle averages just under 35 cents per per kilowatt hour, but varies by state.
Transportation-data firm INRIX says travel times on the nation’s highways could be up to 30% longer than normal over the holidays, with Sunday expected to see the heaviest traffic. Boston, New York City, Seattle and Washington are the metropolitan areas primed for the greatest delays, according to the company.
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Associated Press writers David Koenig, Mae Anderson and Mike Pesoli contributed to this report.
An employee wearing a Santa Claus hat walks past boards showing flight delays, in the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
An employee wearing a Santa Claus hat walks past boards showing flight delays, in the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Cesar Davila, who works for the American Airlines partner providing wheelchair assistance, wears a Christmas tree hat and festive glasses as he waits for a traveler to help inside the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Cesar Davila, who works for the American Airlines partner providing wheelchair assistance, wears a Christmas tree hat and festive glasses as he pushes a traveler through the American Airlines terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Two travelers nap near the Alaska Airlines ticketing area at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Travelers wait in line for security checks at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Marie Digna, traveling to Grand Rapids, Mich., enters security with her two sons, Lucian, right, and Samson, at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Travelers wait in line for security checks at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
American Airlines employees, some wearing Santa Claus hats, check in travelers in the American terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
An American Airlines employee wearing a Santa Claus hat walks through the American terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
An American Airlines employee wearing a Santa Claus hat looks toward quiet check-in counters in the American terminal at Miami International Airport, on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
FILE - American Airlines planes wait at gates at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Friday, July 19, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
