Hong Kong human rights protesters say fervent Chinese Communist Party supporters assaulted them during the FIBA World Cup qualifier basketball match between China and Australia in Melbourne on Thursday night.
An activist named Max Mok said he was attacked after he shouted “Free East Turkistan!” and “Hong Kong independence!” at the arena. East Turkistan is the name preferred by many Uyghurs for their homeland, which China controls under the name Xinjiang.
Mok also reportedly brandished a poster demanding freedom for Mirzat Taher, an Uyghur Muslim and legal permanent resident of Australia arrested in Xinjiang in 2017. Amnesty International described his 25-year prison sentence as one of many crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Uyghurs by China.
Mirzat Taher and his wife Mehray (Family of Mirzat Taher)
Another activist accompanying Mok displayed a Tibetan flag, which has been banned in China as a symbol of Tibetan “separatism.”
Australian police said the brawl was relatively small and was contained without serious injury by arena security staffers.
“Police were pleased with the overall crowd behavior, however, seven spectators were ejected for breaching the conditions of entry during the game,” a police spokesperson said.
The Australian team won the match 76-69, advancing to the next round of the World Cup qualifiers with a 4-0 record. The Australians are scheduled to play against China again on Sunday.
Chinese nationalists have attacked pro-democracy demonstrators on foreign soil several times before, including an ugly mob attack on a pro-Hong Kong rally at Australia’s University of Queensland in July 2019 that became an international incident when the Chinese consulate praised the attackers for their “spontaneous patriotic behavior.”
The video of the basketball game scuffle posted above was taken by Drew Pavlou, a young Greek-Australian who was himself verbally and physically abused by Chinese ultra-nationalists when he demonstrated against the Chinese Communist regime in Sydney in May 2022. An independent journalist covering Pavlou’s protest was also allegedly attacked by the mob.
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