An Australian MP is refusing to apologise to China in order to be granted a visa to the country.
Andrew Hastie wrote an opinion piece, published in the Sydney Morning Herald, in August where he sharply criticised China.
In that column, he argued that Australia needed to balance its security with the need for trade. In a controversial point, he suggested the world was underestimating China's rise in the same way that much of Europe underestimated the rise of Nazi Germany.
"Like the French, Australia has failed to see how mobile our authoritarian neighbour has become," he wrote.
Now Hastie, along with fellow Liberal MP James Paterson, has been denied a visa to visit the country.
The pair were due to visit Beijing next month as part of a study tour. However, their plans have now been scuttled.
"We had looked forward to learning from the Chinese people about their culture, history and perspective during this visit," the MPs wrote in a shared statement that Paterson posted on Twitter.
"We are disappointed that this opportunity for dialogue now won't occur. We are particularly disappointed that the apparent reason why we are not welcome in China at this time is our frankness about the Chinese Communist Party."
Hastie and Paterson were asked by the Chinese embassy in Canberra to "repent and redress their mistakes".
Rather than toe the line, however, Hastie, a former SAS soldier, says he will not back down.
"Senator James Paterson and I will not repent," The Guardian reported him as saying.
"Let me be very clear, we will not repent for standing up for Australian sovereignty, our values, our interests, and for those who can't speak for themselves."
Hastie said he was "very much open" to visiting the country next year, but conceded that was pretty unlikely without an apology.
In a statement, the Chinese embassy said it was "open to constructive dialogue and exchanges with people all around the world on the basis of mutual respect, equality and seeking common ground while reserving differences".
However, the statement said, its government would not accept those who "make unwarranted attacks" on the country, "wantonly exert pressure on China", challenge the country's sovereignty or disrespect its dignity.
"China will never yield to colonisation of ideas and values," the embassy said.
"As long as the people concerned genuinely repent and redress their mistakes...the door of dialogue and exchanges will always remain open."
Professor Anne-Marie Brady, a China expert at the University of Canterbury, says in recent years China has changed the way it deals with its critics.
"China is increasingly refusing visas for politicians and academics who express critical views on the CCP government and has also detained a number of foreigners for political reasons," Professor Brady told Newshub.
"Until Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the CCP government used to be comfortable with foreign politicians speaking up on human rights issues and other concerns about China, and would actively invite them to visit to exchange views and hear the CCP government’s perspective."
