But several protesters interjected during Mr Xiao's address.
One described Mr Xiao as a "representative of a dictatorship" and accused the Chinese government of committing genocide against the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
He was ushered out by security guards.
One man was asked to leave the venue prior to the event because he was dressed in a Cultural Revolution-era military costume that security described as "confronting".
Another protester held a sign reading "Free Tibet", and other stood up and declared they were a Uyghur and not a terrorist.
Yet another was escorted out after standing up and criticising China's censorship, saying people in Hong Kong and Tibet were unable to express their views freely...
Professor James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, asked Mr Xiao a number of questions that were provided to the embassy before the event.
He asked Mr Xiao if he could provide any hope for the families of detained Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, or for Uyghurs in Australia who have been unable to contact loved ones in Xinjiang for years.
"With all my respect for you… I do disagree with you," Mr Xiao said.
"Freedom of speech is different from absolute freedom. In this world, there's no such thing as absolute freedom. Freedom is freedom within rule of law.
"These are individual cases and the relevant authorities are dealing with these cases according to Chinese rules or regulations.
"So long as they respect the rules and laws, there's no reason for them to worry," the Chinese ambassador said.//
Source: ABC #Jun23
#InternationalRelations #Australia #ChineseAmbassador
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