'They don't feel safe; it's scary': Hunter's Tibetan community living in fear
Mr Yu and his delegation asked about the local members of the persecuted community during a meeting with lord mayor Ross Kerridge and at lunch with union representatives last Thursday.
China does not recognise Tibet's sovereignty and considers its community members to be political separatists.
Many members of the Hunter's 170-strong Tibetan community endured persecution, imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Chinese government before arriving in Australia as part of humanitarian programs.
Most still have family members in Tibet.
Lobsang Lungtok, who lives in Newcastle, was tortured for 18 months in a detention camp after writing a poem criticising China's one-child policy in 1995.
He said the news that Mr Yu had been asking questions about the local community was extremely concerning.
"I have spoken to a lot of Tibetans who are saying, 'What's going on? Why are the Chinese here? They don't feel safe; it's scary," Mr Lungtok, the former president of the Newcastle Tibetan Community, said.
"A lot of them are worried about their families back home."
He said he suspected the growth of the Hunter's Tibetan community in recent years was of concern to Chinese officials.
"We have been growing very fast. They (the Chinese government) probably think we are going to start a guerilla movement or something," he said.
"We are peaceful people who wish to live quiet lives in Australia."
Mr Lungtok, 50, arrived in Australia in 2001 after fleeing to India following his release from prison. He is married with a young family.
He said his community was grateful for the support of the wider community, which included having Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon and lord mayor Ross Kerridge present at their celebration of the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday.
However, he said the Australian government needed to be stronger in its defence of Tibet and its people.
"We just saw the prime minister with the Chinese president walking on the Great Wall. He said 'this is a nice place, everyone is welcome'. Not everyone is welcome," he said.
Mr Lungtok's most recent run-in with Chinese authorities was only last month when he was deported from China after attempting to visit his family.
"They deported me back to Sydney Airport. If they wanted to kidnap someone it would be so easy to do it there," he said.
Muswellbrook mayor Jeff Drayton said his Newcastle counterpart Ross Kerridge had no business speaking on behalf of other councils during his now-infamous meeting with the Chinese consul general.
The meeting minutes show that as part of a discussion about the Hunter Region, Cr Kerridge said that one of the Hunter Joint Organisation's priorities was to transition away from coal mining.
"LM (Lord Mayor) provided an overview of the JO strategy for transition out of coal in the Hunter Valley," the minutes say.
Cr Drayton, said he was shocked Cr Kerridge had not consulted him before he spoke about the transition away from coal mining.
"Forget how nave it is - a meet and greet with the Chinese discussing things like our region's role in defence, the local Tibetan community. When I saw in the minutes that the discussion turned to the Hunter, I couldn't believe it," Cr Drayton said.
"On what planet does a Newcastle Lord Mayor offer views to China about the Hunter Joint Organisation - without a word to the other nine councils? Let alone Muswellbrook.
"On what planet would he tell China the Hunter councils share a priority to, quote, 'transition out of coal mining'?"
Cr Drayton said it was factually wrong to say that Muswellbrook or any other mining community had voluntarily chosen to move away from coal.
"Mine closures are a commercially-driven challenge that our communities are counting on us to respond to - and believe me, we are. We have 12,000 jobs riding on it, across the Hunter, from pit to port.
"To trot this out across the table from our main trading partner - even if he believes it, I'm not sure why he's felt the need to weigh in."
The Hunter's Tibetan community is living in fear after hearing that Chinese Consul General Wang Yu was inquiring about their whereabouts during a recent visit to Newcastle.
Mr Yu and his delegation asked about the local members of the persecuted community during a meeting with lord mayor Ross Kerridge and at lunch with union representatives last Thursday.
China does not recognise Tibet's sovereignty and considers its community members to be political separatists.
Many members of the Hunter's 170-strong Tibetan community endured persecution, imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Chinese government before arriving in Australia as part of humanitarian programs.
Most still have family members in Tibet.
Lobsang Lungtok, who lives in Newcastle, was tortured for 18 months in a detention camp after writing a poem criticising China's one-child policy in 1995.
He said the news that Mr Yu had been asking questions about the local community was extremely concerning.
"I have spoken to a lot of Tibetans who are saying, 'What's going on? Why are the Chinese here? They don't feel safe; it's scary," Mr Lungtok, the former president of the Newcastle Tibetan Community, said.
"A lot of them are worried about their families back home."
He said he suspected the growth of the Hunter's Tibetan community in recent years was of concern to Chinese officials.
"We have been growing very fast. They (the Chinese government) probably think we are going to start a guerilla movement or something," he said.
"We are peaceful people who wish to live quiet lives in Australia."
Mr Lungtok, 50, arrived in Australia in 2001 after fleeing to India following his release from prison. He is married with a young family.
He said his community was grateful for the support of the wider community, which included having Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon and lord mayor Ross Kerridge present at their celebration of the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday.
However, he said the Australian government needed to be stronger in its defence of Tibet and its people.
"We just saw the prime minister with the Chinese president walking on the Great Wall. He said 'this is a nice place, everyone is welcome'. Not everyone is welcome," he said.
Mr Lungtok's most recent run-in with Chinese authorities was only last month when he was deported from China after attempting to visit his family.
"They deported me back to Sydney Airport. If they wanted to kidnap someone it would be so easy to do it there," he said.
Muswellbrook mayor Jeff Drayton said his Newcastle counterpart Ross Kerridge had no business speaking on behalf of other councils during his now-infamous meeting with the Chinese consul general.
The meeting minutes show that as part of a discussion about the Hunter Region, Cr Kerridge said that one of the Hunter Joint Organisation's priorities was to transition away from coal mining.
"LM (Lord Mayor) provided an overview of the JO strategy for transition out of coal in the Hunter Valley," the minutes say.
Cr Drayton, said he was shocked Cr Kerridge had not consulted him before he spoke about the transition away from coal mining.
"Forget how nave it is - a meet and greet with the Chinese discussing things like our region's role in defence, the local Tibetan community. When I saw in the minutes that the discussion turned to the Hunter, I couldn't believe it," Cr Drayton said.
"On what planet does a Newcastle Lord Mayor offer views to China about the Hunter Joint Organisation - without a word to the other nine councils? Let alone Muswellbrook.
"On what planet would he tell China the Hunter councils share a priority to, quote, 'transition out of coal mining'?"
Cr Drayton said it was factually wrong to say that Muswellbrook or any other mining community had voluntarily chosen to move away from coal.
"Mine closures are a commercially-driven challenge that our communities are counting on us to respond to - and believe me, we are. We have 12,000 jobs riding on it, across the Hunter, from pit to port.
"To trot this out across the table from our main trading partner - even if he believes it, I'm not sure why he's felt the need to weigh in."
The Hunter's Tibetan community is living in fear after hearing that Chinese Consul General Wang Yu was inquiring about their whereabouts during a recent visit to Newcastle.
Mr Yu and his delegation asked about the local members of the persecuted community during a meeting with lord mayor Ross Kerridge and at lunch with union representatives last Thursday.
China does not recognise Tibet's sovereignty and considers its community members to be political separatists.
Many members of the Hunter's 170-strong Tibetan community endured persecution, imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Chinese government before arriving in Australia as part of humanitarian programs.
Most still have family members in Tibet.
Lobsang Lungtok, who lives in Newcastle, was tortured for 18 months in a detention camp after writing a poem criticising China's one-child policy in 1995.
He said the news that Mr Yu had been asking questions about the local community was extremely concerning.
"I have spoken to a lot of Tibetans who are saying, 'What's going on? Why are the Chinese here? They don't feel safe; it's scary," Mr Lungtok, the former president of the Newcastle Tibetan Community, said.
"A lot of them are worried about their families back home."
He said he suspected the growth of the Hunter's Tibetan community in recent years was of concern to Chinese officials.
"We have been growing very fast. They (the Chinese government) probably think we are going to start a guerilla movement or something," he said.
"We are peaceful people who wish to live quiet lives in Australia."
Mr Lungtok, 50, arrived in Australia in 2001 after fleeing to India following his release from prison. He is married with a young family.
He said his community was grateful for the support of the wider community, which included having Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon and lord mayor Ross Kerridge present at their celebration of the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday.
However, he said the Australian government needed to be stronger in its defence of Tibet and its people.
"We just saw the prime minister with the Chinese president walking on the Great Wall. He said 'this is a nice place, everyone is welcome'. Not everyone is welcome," he said.
Mr Lungtok's most recent run-in with Chinese authorities was only last month when he was deported from China after attempting to visit his family.
"They deported me back to Sydney Airport. If they wanted to kidnap someone it would be so easy to do it there," he said.
Muswellbrook mayor Jeff Drayton said his Newcastle counterpart Ross Kerridge had no business speaking on behalf of other councils during his now-infamous meeting with the Chinese consul general.
The meeting minutes show that as part of a discussion about the Hunter Region, Cr Kerridge said that one of the Hunter Joint Organisation's priorities was to transition away from coal mining.
"LM (Lord Mayor) provided an overview of the JO strategy for transition out of coal in the Hunter Valley," the minutes say.
Cr Drayton, said he was shocked Cr Kerridge had not consulted him before he spoke about the transition away from coal mining.
"Forget how nave it is - a meet and greet with the Chinese discussing things like our region's role in defence, the local Tibetan community. When I saw in the minutes that the discussion turned to the Hunter, I couldn't believe it," Cr Drayton said.
"On what planet does a Newcastle Lord Mayor offer views to China about the Hunter Joint Organisation - without a word to the other nine councils? Let alone Muswellbrook.
"On what planet would he tell China the Hunter councils share a priority to, quote, 'transition out of coal mining'?"
Cr Drayton said it was factually wrong to say that Muswellbrook or any other mining community had voluntarily chosen to move away from coal.
"Mine closures are a commercially-driven challenge that our communities are counting on us to respond to - and believe me, we are. We have 12,000 jobs riding on it, across the Hunter, from pit to port.
"To trot this out across the table from our main trading partner - even if he believes it, I'm not sure why he's felt the need to weigh in."
The Hunter's Tibetan community is living in fear after hearing that Chinese Consul General Wang Yu was inquiring about their whereabouts during a recent visit to Newcastle.
Mr Yu and his delegation asked about the local members of the persecuted community during a meeting with lord mayor Ross Kerridge and at lunch with union representatives last Thursday.
China does not recognise Tibet's sovereignty and considers its community members to be political separatists.
Many members of the Hunter's 170-strong Tibetan community endured persecution, imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Chinese government before arriving in Australia as part of humanitarian programs.
Most still have family members in Tibet.
Lobsang Lungtok, who lives in Newcastle, was tortured for 18 months in a detention camp after writing a poem criticising China's one-child policy in 1995.
He said the news that Mr Yu had been asking questions about the local community was extremely concerning.
"I have spoken to a lot of Tibetans who are saying, 'What's going on? Why are the Chinese here? They don't feel safe; it's scary," Mr Lungtok, the former president of the Newcastle Tibetan Community, said.
"A lot of them are worried about their families back home."
He said he suspected the growth of the Hunter's Tibetan community in recent years was of concern to Chinese officials.
"We have been growing very fast. They (the Chinese government) probably think we are going to start a guerilla movement or something," he said.
"We are peaceful people who wish to live quiet lives in Australia."
Mr Lungtok, 50, arrived in Australia in 2001 after fleeing to India following his release from prison. He is married with a young family.
He said his community was grateful for the support of the wider community, which included having Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon and lord mayor Ross Kerridge present at their celebration of the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday.
However, he said the Australian government needed to be stronger in its defence of Tibet and its people.
"We just saw the prime minister with the Chinese president walking on the Great Wall. He said 'this is a nice place, everyone is welcome'. Not everyone is welcome," he said.
Mr Lungtok's most recent run-in with Chinese authorities was only last month when he was deported from China after attempting to visit his family.
"They deported me back to Sydney Airport. If they wanted to kidnap someone it would be so easy to do it there," he said.
Muswellbrook mayor Jeff Drayton said his Newcastle counterpart Ross Kerridge had no business speaking on behalf of other councils during his now-infamous meeting with the Chinese consul general.
The meeting minutes show that as part of a discussion about the Hunter Region, Cr Kerridge said that one of the Hunter Joint Organisation's priorities was to transition away from coal mining.
"LM (Lord Mayor) provided an overview of the JO strategy for transition out of coal in the Hunter Valley," the minutes say.
Cr Drayton, said he was shocked Cr Kerridge had not consulted him before he spoke about the transition away from coal mining.
"Forget how nave it is - a meet and greet with the Chinese discussing things like our region's role in defence, the local Tibetan community. When I saw in the minutes that the discussion turned to the Hunter, I couldn't believe it," Cr Drayton said.
"On what planet does a Newcastle Lord Mayor offer views to China about the Hunter Joint Organisation - without a word to the other nine councils? Let alone Muswellbrook.
"On what planet would he tell China the Hunter councils share a priority to, quote, 'transition out of coal mining'?"
Cr Drayton said it was factually wrong to say that Muswellbrook or any other mining community had voluntarily chosen to move away from coal.
"Mine closures are a commercially-driven challenge that our communities are counting on us to respond to - and believe me, we are. We have 12,000 jobs riding on it, across the Hunter, from pit to port.
"To trot this out across the table from our main trading partner - even if he believes it, I'm not sure why he's felt the need to weigh in."
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