Australia’s government is defending its plan to send citizens evacuated from the epicenter of China’s new coronavirus emergency to a remote island used to hold asylum seekers and convicted criminals, despite warnings that some Australians would prefer to stay in China.
Australia is preparing to send potentially hundreds of its citizens rescued from Hubei province to a quarantine camp on remote Christmas Island.
The Indian Ocean island houses asylum seekers who attempt to arrive by boat, a widely condemned policy.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says that Christmas Island strikes the right balance between supporting Australians stranded in China and protecting the wider population.
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