"The Australian" Friday, August 15

Australia has asked China for information on a number of dissidents, a list accepted by the Beijing Government informally so as not to undermine its assertion that the country has no political prisoners.

Australia handed over the list during a four-day series of closed-door exchanges on human rights issues which concluded in the Chinese capital yesterday.

Officials declined to give further details about the number or names of the dissidents, nor would they say how they expected the Chinese to respond.

Both sides described the talks as open and productive, and China has agreed to consider sending a delegation to Australia next year to continue discussions.

In the past, China has declined to take up Canberra's invitations to visit Australia to investigate human rights issues, usually for fear of legitimising meddling in its own affairs.

China agreed to the talks earlier this year after Australia broke ranks with Washington and refused to back a resolution in a UN commission condemning human rights abuses in China.

Australian officials rejected criticism last night that the gabfest was ineffective in pressuring China to improve its harsh treatment of people who dared to challenge the ruling Communist Party.

They said that the Chinese had willingly engaged in exchanges on sensitive issues, something which was not always possible when they were being publicly "hectored" on human rights.

"This was not a dialogue of the deaf, nor a presentation of pro-forma issues," said one official.

"There was no shying away, or pulling down of the shutters when we discussed sensitive issues."

The officials said they had also raised the issue of religious freedom and the preservation of culture in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet, where China forcibly restricts Buddhist worship.

A senior Chinese diplomat, Wang Guangyu, in briefing Australian reporters, maintained the hardline that China did not jail political dissidents, and thus was not open for formal discussions on the issue.

"This time, the issue was not raised, and it if was it would have been rejected, because China does not have any political prisoners," he said.

He said that China had not raised any human rights problems in Australia, as the talks had concentrated on general rather than specific topics.

"We do not want to make any comments about Australia," he said. "Nor do we welcome any irresponsible comments about China."

However, Mr Wang said such talks, when they were conducted on the basis of "mutual respect and equality", were "easy-going".