Pro-democracy groups representing Hongkongers, Uyghurs, Myanmar people and Thais have called on Australia to enact legislation that will allow its government to impose sanctions against perpetrators of human right abuses.

Australian-Hong Kong Link — a group of Hongkongers living in Australia — together with 34 groups of people from Xinjiang, Myanmar and Thailand, published an advertisement in The Australian newspaper on Monday urging Canberra to introduce a Magnitsky Act immediately.

They said the human right abuses facing their fellow compatriots back home showed the need for Australia to establish a sanction regime similar to those in the United States and Britain, allowing its government to freeze the assets of perpetrators and ban them from entry.

These abuses included Beijing’s repression in Hong Kong, a genocide against the Uyghur Muslims in northwest China, the Myanmar junta and the suppression of democratic movements in Thailand, the groups said.

Earlier, a crowdfunding campaign raised AU$14,450, falling short of its AU$34,000 target to finance the petition’s publication. Australian-Hong Kong Link and another group “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong” donated the remaining AU$19,550.

Former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui, who moved to Australia from Britain about two weeks ago, told local media that one of his three tasks was to push for Magnitsky-like legislation in the country.

“I hope that we will let parliament members and officials see what is happening to Hong Kong. I hope they can pass the human rights law to sanction Hong Kong and Beijing officials for infringing Hongkongers’ human rights,” Hui told Australian broadcaster SBS.

“This will send a very clear message to the world that the Australian government stands with the world and supports Hongkongers’ fight for freedom and democracy,” he said.

The self-exiled politician is set to hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday with envoys of European Union countries to talk about the situation in Hong Kong. He is also planning to meet Australian lawmakers in the coming months.

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