QResear.ch

#21252194 at 2024-07-20 14:37:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 91
Australia / China Tensions - Part 15
>>21036210 OPINION: We can't pander to China. Hong Kong Australians need us to speak up for them - "As Australia hosts China's Premier Li this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the visit is an "opportunity for Australia to advance our interests by demonstrating our national values" and that "Australia continues to pursue a stable and direct relationship with China, with dialogue at its core". In the lead-up to this landmark visit, increasingly brazen steps have been taken to crack down on freedoms in Hong Kong. New, draconian national security laws have been introduced despite significant human rights concerns raised by the UN. Peaceful protesters, as well as booksellers, journalists and children's book authors have been arrested and prosecuted. Fourteen pro-democracy activists have been convicted of "subversion" for peacefully participating in political activities. Even singing a protest song, Glory to Hong Kong, can now result in prosecution. Lai's case is emblematic of the crackdown on free speech, democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong, which is also affecting Australians. Just last month, 14 democracy activists were convicted under the national security law, including an Australian citizen. As part of the crackdown, Hong Kong has issued "bounties" for the arrest of high-profile activists living in exile, including for former legislator Ted Hui and lawyer Kevin Yam, who is also an Australian citizen. Both live in Australia. Australia has a large Hong Kong community: around 86,000 people born in Hong Kong now call Australia home. This growing transnational repression threat makes it all the more important that Australia raises it. Australia must raise free speech and democracy in Hong Kong and call for the release of Jimmy Lai and all journalists and pro-democracy campaigners." - Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, international human rights lawyer and Jennifer Robinson, Australian barrister and member of Jimmy Lai's legal team - theage.com.au
>>21042011 Video: 'Rude, inappropriate': Albanese toughens language on Cheng Lei incident as Chinese premier departs - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted his government has improved relations with China without giving ground on core values, as he revealed he complained directly to Chinese Premier Li Qiang about embassy officials' disrespectful treatment of journalist Cheng Lei. Albanese toughened his language late on Tuesday afternoon after coming under attack by the opposition for failing to condemn the embassy officials' behaviour strongly enough. He described the conduct as "rude", "entirely inappropriate" and "counterproductive", while the government separately blasted China for "dangerous and illegal" behaviour in the South China Sea. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton lashed Albanese for failing to call out the Chinese officials' behaviour swiftly on Monday, saying the prime minister needed to "grow a backbone" after Albanese initially called the conduct "clumsy" and "ham-fisted" on Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, Albanese had said the "idea of standing between a camera and a journalist is just clearly inappropriate". "That was rude what occurred and, frankly, just counterproductive from the Chinese side and just drew attention to the fact that Cheng Lei was there," he said in an interview with 6PR.
>>21042044 Chinese officials were rude and belligerent. Why did that take Albanese so long to say? - "Rude. Belligerent. Completely disrespectful. Utterly inappropriate. These were some of the words Anthony Albanese could have accurately used when asked on Tuesday morning to describe the behaviour of Chinese embassy officials at a signing ceremony at Parliament House the previous day. Instead, the prime minister opted for "ham-fisted" and "clumsy". He used this language in multiple breakfast radio interviews, indicating it had been carefully chosen the night before. It took about eight more hours - and Coalition demands for him to "grow a backbone" - for Albanese to toughen his language. It's true that a foreign official behaving like a pork chop by standing in front of a reporter is a trivial affair in and of itself. Beijing's systematic repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, its assault on democracy in Hong Kong and cyberattacks on nations, including Australia, are far more significant violations, to name just a few. Yet what occurred at the signing ceremony was a symbolically powerful moment, one that affronted Australians' famed sense of fairness. By refusing to budge despite the protestations of Australian officials, the Chinese embassy official confirmed Australians' worst fears of China under Xi Jinping: a thuggish superpower so smitten with its sense of superiority that it can throw its weight around at will." - Matthew Knott - theage.com.au

#21251670 at 2024-07-20 13:20:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#36 - Part 91
Australia / China Tensions - Part 15
>>21036210 OPINION: We can't pander to China. Hong Kong Australians need us to speak up for them - "As Australia hosts China's Premier Li this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the visit is an "opportunity for Australia to advance our interests by demonstrating our national values" and that "Australia continues to pursue a stable and direct relationship with China, with dialogue at its core". In the lead-up to this landmark visit, increasingly brazen steps have been taken to crack down on freedoms in Hong Kong. New, draconian national security laws have been introduced despite significant human rights concerns raised by the UN. Peaceful protesters, as well as booksellers, journalists and children's book authors have been arrested and prosecuted. Fourteen pro-democracy activists have been convicted of "subversion" for peacefully participating in political activities. Even singing a protest song, Glory to Hong Kong, can now result in prosecution. Lai's case is emblematic of the crackdown on free speech, democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong, which is also affecting Australians. Just last month, 14 democracy activists were convicted under the national security law, including an Australian citizen. As part of the crackdown, Hong Kong has issued "bounties" for the arrest of high-profile activists living in exile, including for former legislator Ted Hui and lawyer Kevin Yam, who is also an Australian citizen. Both live in Australia. Australia has a large Hong Kong community: around 86,000 people born in Hong Kong now call Australia home. This growing transnational repression threat makes it all the more important that Australia raises it. Australia must raise free speech and democracy in Hong Kong and call for the release of Jimmy Lai and all journalists and pro-democracy campaigners." - Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, international human rights lawyer and Jennifer Robinson, Australian barrister and member of Jimmy Lai's legal team - theage.com.au
>>21042011 'Rude, inappropriate': Albanese toughens language on Cheng Lei incident as Chinese premier departs - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted his government has improved relations with China without giving ground on core values, as he revealed he complained directly to Chinese Premier Li Qiang about embassy officials' disrespectful treatment of journalist Cheng Lei. Albanese toughened his language late on Tuesday afternoon after coming under attack by the opposition for failing to condemn the embassy officials' behaviour strongly enough. He described the conduct as "rude", "entirely inappropriate" and "counterproductive", while the government separately blasted China for "dangerous and illegal" behaviour in the South China Sea. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton lashed Albanese for failing to call out the Chinese officials' behaviour swiftly on Monday, saying the prime minister needed to "grow a backbone" after Albanese initially called the conduct "clumsy" and "ham-fisted" on Tuesday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, Albanese had said the "idea of standing between a camera and a journalist is just clearly inappropriate". "That was rude what occurred and, frankly, just counterproductive from the Chinese side and just drew attention to the fact that Cheng Lei was there," he said in an interview with 6PR.
>>21042044 Chinese officials were rude and belligerent. Why did that take Albanese so long to say? - "Rude. Belligerent. Completely disrespectful. Utterly inappropriate. These were some of the words Anthony Albanese could have accurately used when asked on Tuesday morning to describe the behaviour of Chinese embassy officials at a signing ceremony at Parliament House the previous day. Instead, the prime minister opted for "ham-fisted" and "clumsy". He used this language in multiple breakfast radio interviews, indicating it had been carefully chosen the night before. It took about eight more hours - and Coalition demands for him to "grow a backbone" - for Albanese to toughen his language. It's true that a foreign official behaving like a pork chop by standing in front of a reporter is a trivial affair in and of itself. Beijing's systematic repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, its assault on democracy in Hong Kong and cyberattacks on nations, including Australia, are far more significant violations, to name just a few. Yet what occurred at the signing ceremony was a symbolically powerful moment, one that affronted Australians' famed sense of fairness. By refusing to budge despite the protestations of Australian officials, the Chinese embassy official confirmed Australians' worst fears of China under Xi Jinping: a thuggish superpower so smitten with its sense of superiority that it can throw its weight around at will." - Matthew Knott - theage.com.au

#21036219 at 2024-06-17 11:41:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>21036210

2/2

Lai's case is emblematic of the crackdown on free speech, democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong, which is also affecting Australians. Just last month, 14 democracy activists were convicted under the national security law, including an Australian citizen. As part of the crackdown, Hong Kong has issued "bounties" for the arrest of high-profile activists living in exile, including for former legislator Ted Hui and lawyer Kevin Yam, who is also an Australian citizen. Both live in Australia.

Australia has a large Hong Kong community: around 86,000 people born in Hong Kong now call Australia home. This growing transnational repression threat makes it all the more important that Australia raises it.

There are also promising signs for opportunity for real dialogue on these issues. During his visit to New Zealand, Li made his intentions clear, saying it is "natural that we don't always see eye to eye but such differences should not become a chasm that blocks exchanges and co-operation between us".

Australia must raise free speech and democracy in Hong Kong and call for the release of Jimmy Lai and all journalists and pro-democracy campaigners.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC is an international human rights lawyer and lead counsel for Jimmy Lai. Jennifer Robinson is an Australian barrister working in London and a member of Jimmy Lai's international legal team.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher will appear at the National Press Club in Canberra on Monday, July 1 with Jimmy's son, Sebastien Lai, to discuss the trial, press freedom and democracy in Hong Kong.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/don-t-pander-to-china-pm-hong-kong-australians-need-you-to-speak-up-for-them-20240616-p5jm42.html

https://www.npc.org.au/speaker/2024/1336-sebastien-lai-caoilfhionn-gallagher-kc

#19792423 at 2023-10-24 10:45:13 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19755118
>>19755135
>>19792379
Police questioned on why they allowed Hong Kong officers to visit cyber centre

Stephen Dziedzic - 24 October 2023

1/2

An Australian lawyer with a police bounty on his head in Hong Kong has questioned why officers from the Chinese territory were allowed into Australia for training, calling it "traumatising" for pro-democracy activists being targeted by Beijing.

The Coalition is also grilling Australian Federal Police's top brass about why the Hong Kong officers were allowed to visit a cyber coordination centre in Australia, given ASIO head Mike Burgess recently accused China of "unprecedented" cyber espionage to obtain intellectual property.

Six members of the Hong Kong Police Force recently completed Australian Institute of Police Management programs and toured AFP sites in Canberra and Perth.

AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw defended the program, telling Senate estimates on Monday night that Australia needed to maintain cooperation with police in both China and Hong Kong to help crackdown on drug smuggling.

"We do actually continually share intelligence with [China] ... we are actually a net receiver of intelligence and that intelligence has led to protecting a lot of Australians from harm, particularly from illicit drugs," he said.

"It's a challenging situation that we're faced with, with the complexity of the world we're in at the moment."

But Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson zeroed in on the training program, saying the imposition of China's national security law in Hong Kong and the vast crackdown on civil liberties in the territory raised deep questions about training their police in Australia.

"At this moment they are out there arresting people for lighting candles to commemorate Tiananmen Square, they are locking up media proprietors ... they are locking up unionists, they are locking up opposition politicians," he said.

"Do we really think this level of cooperation with the Hong Kong police force is appropriate?"

'Traumatic' to learn Hong Kong police were in Australia, says pro-democracy lawyer

Melbourne-based lawyer Kevin Yam is one of eight overseas-based pro-democracy activists who has been targeted by Hong Kong police, who accused him of "serious" national security offences and offered a reward of $HK1 million ($192,000) for information leading to his arrest.

"While I don't question the AFP's professionalism, to have Hong Kong police in their official capacity being physically in Australia, from a personal perspective, is pretty traumatic," he told the ABC.

"I wasn't born yesterday, I know in this world you sometimes need to deal with unsavoury characters, the Hong Kong police being one of them.

"However, you can imagine that for people like me it's pretty traumatising ... when in Australia I have to rely on the Australian police to keep an eye over me."

"I know that they're 800km away in Sydney and Canberra but still, it just doesn't sit right with me to see Hong Kong cops here."

(continued)

#19199781 at 2023-07-18 10:51:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19120607 (pb)
>>19126504 (pb)
>>19154878 (pb)
Democracy activists welcome here say Aussie MPs, as new figures show few Hongkongers seek visas

ELLEN WHINNETT - JULY 18, 2023

People fleeing Chinese oppression in Hong Kong should consider Australia as a destination, the leaders of a bipartisan group of parliamentarians say, as new figures show barely a handful of protection visas are granted to Hongkongers by Australia each year.

Labor MP Peter Khalil and Liberal senator James Paterson, the co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said Australia should be a destination of choice for Hongkongers targeted by authorities following the 2020 imposition of Beijing's national security laws on the former British colony

The issue has taken on new impetus after the Hong Kong police offered bounties for the arrests of eight Hong Kong democracy activists now based overseas, including Australian citizen Kevin Yam and resident Ted Hui, who lives in Australia on a temporary bridging visa.

In a joint statement, Mr Khalil and Senator Paterson condemned the bounties, which were announced early this month and accompanied by threats that Hong Kong's police would "not stop chasing'' the activists accused of breaking national security laws by Beijing.

"The arrest warrants and bounties on the heads of an Australian citizen and resident by the Hong Kong authorities are utterly unacceptable,'' the pair told The Australian.

"Their rights to engage in free speech and political activism in Australia are protected and should never be interfered with by external parties.''

Department of Home Affairs figures show that only small numbers of Hong Kong passport holders apply for protection in Australia each year, and barely a handful of protection visa are granted.

The figures show fewer than 350 Hongkongers in total applied for protection in the past three years. This compares to the more than 250 Indian passport holders who apply each month while already in Australia, and about 150 mainland Chinese citizens who also apply every month.

Hong Kong retained some independence from Beijing after it came back under Chinese rule in 1997, but widespread protests against creeping political interference in 2019 led to the imposition of mainland China's national security laws in 2020.

In the last year before the laws came into effect, 2018-2019, just 62 holders of Hong Kong passports applied for Australian protection visas, with none granted.

The following year, covering the protest period, 164 people applied, with none granted as the Covid crisis began to take hold.

In financial year 2020-2021, 186 people applied as authorities came down hard on criticism of Beijing's masters.

By 2021-2022, the number of applications had fallen to 85, and last financial year, numbers fell further, with just 70 applications. In each of those financial years, fewer than five protection visas were granted each year.

Home Affairs does not report specific visa numbers if the numbers are lower than five, meaning it could be as few as a single visa a year issued.

Many Hongkongers have instead taken advantage of their historic links to the UK and generous resettlement options, and instead gone to England, where the government was preparing for almost 500,000 people to apply for visas.

"Australia should aspire to be a destination of choice for the people of Hong Kong given the continued deterioration of freedoms and undermining of the rule of law,'' Mr Khalil and Senator Paterson said. "Whether they choose to come as students, skilled workers or humanitarian applicants, our country will be better for their presence."

The Australian arm of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China is part of a global network of parliamentarians from democracies that works to hold China to account for human rights abuses, foreign influence and creeping authoritarianism.

The bounties on the democracy activists were issued on July 4 and accused the eight people living in Australia, Canada, the US and Britain of breaching national security laws.

Mr Yam, a Melbourne-born lawyer and academic who lived for years in Hong Kong before returning to his city of birth, is an Australian citizen.

Mr Hui, a pro-democracy parliamentarian, was invited to Australia with his family on a tourist visa after being forced to flee Hong Kong.

While he is now on a temporary bridging visa, sources in Canberra have told The Australian the issuing of the bounty made it all but guaranteed he would receive permanent residency or citizenship rights in Australia.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/democracy-activists-welcome-here-say-aussie-mps-as-new-figures-show-few-hongkongers-seek-visas/news-story/1569bf3afa5f98e9ad490fd3a991787b

#19188935 at 2023-07-16 09:44:32 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#30 - Part 71
Australia / China Tensions - Part 9
>>19154798 Solomon Islands leader visits security partner China with focus on infrastructure - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare arrives in China on Sunday for his first visit since striking a security deal, pledging to "remain neutral" amid rising China-U.S. competition and prioritise his nation's development needs. Western analysts said Sogavare would be feted after signing the security pact that alarmed Washington and some Pacific Islands neighbours including Australia last year. Concern over China's naval ambitions in the strategically-located region prompted Washington to strike a defence agreement with Papua New Guinea last month.
>>19154815 Prime Minister Sogavare participates in the first High Level Meeting of Forum on Global Action for Shared Development in China - Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Sogavare began his weeklong engagement with the Government of the People's Republic of China this morning. Prime Minister Sogavare underscored the need to rise above those that want to create a divided world with ideological geopolitical fault lines....."we must remain united in our focus in creating innovative paths of cooperation to close the gap between the haves and the have not. Share our development experience using frameworks such as the Belt and Road Initiative to convert our potentials into prosperity." The Prime Minister thanked China for its commitment to construct a new comprehensive Public Medical Center in Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital. Solomon Islands is pleased that the People's Liberation Army Naval Peace Ark will be visiting Solomon Islands, he stated.
>>19154823 Sogavare's visit to deepen ties between China and Solomons - Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare arrived in Beijing to start his weeklong visit to China - his second - on Sunday, during which the leaders of the two countries will have in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of mutual interest. He will also inaugurate the country's embassy in China, meet company executives and visit East China's Jiangsu and South China's Guangdong provinces. As the two countries move forward their relationship under the principle of "mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual benefit," the tangible benefits the Solomon Islands receive come in sheer contrast to US and Western aid, which shrank quickly and was largely applied in political and ideological fields, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times on Sunday. - Zhang Han - globaltimes.cn
>>19154878 OPINION: On the weekend my footy team lost. On Monday, there was a $190k bounty on my head - "Along with seven others, there is now a warrant out on me for alleged national security offences. According to Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, we will be "pursued for life". My alleged crimes were calling for action in response to China's crackdown on Hong Kong in meetings with Australian members of parliament and the foreign minister, as well as testifying by video-link before United States Congress. The support I have received from across the spectrum in Australia and beyond has been overwhelming, including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Friends from everywhere have congratulated me for earning a badge of honour in resisting authoritarian tyranny. If only living normally with a bounty over my head was so straightforward." - Kevin Yam, non-resident senior fellow of Georgetown University Centre for Asian Law and master of laws student at the University of Melbourne - theage.com.au
>>19160130 China, Solomon Islands take swipe at AUKUS in announcing new strategic partnership - China and the Solomon Islands have signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership", four years after the Pacific nation switched ties from Taiwan to China. The police cooperation pact was among nine deals signed after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, underlining his nation's foreign policy shift. China will continue to provide assistance to the Solomon Islands to enhance its law enforcement capacity, according to a joint statement released by China's official Xinhua news agency. It urged "relevant countries" to "prudently" handle issues such as the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea and cooperation on nuclear submarines, in a thinly veiled swipe at Japan and AUKUS, the alliance among Australia, the United States and Britain.

#19188934 at 2023-07-16 09:44:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#30 - Part 70
Australia / China Tensions - Part 8
>>19126537 Anthony Albanese should reconsider rapprochement with China - "Penny Wong was right to warn the Chinese government of the existence of strong foreign interference legislation in Australia, after Hong Kong authorities ?issued arrest warrants for two democracy activists now resident in Australia. Hong Kong's national security police also offered $HK1m rewards for information that leads to the capture of lawyer Kevin Yam, an Australian citizen, and former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui, who lives in Adelaide. The Foreign Minister expressed her "deep disappointment" at the Chinese actions, and reiterated that Canberra had long held deep concerns about the ?application of national security laws in Hong Kong. Wong said: "I want to be very clear. Australia has a view about freedom of expression, we have a view about people's right to express their views peacefully, and people in Australia who do so in accordance with our laws will be supported." Her comments make it clear the official Chinese actions represent an ugly effort to intimidate Australia, to intimidate the diaspora and ethnic Chinese community within Australia, and to intimidate the two democracy ?activists named. The Australian government has an overwhelming operational responsibility now to make sure no agents of the Chinese government, and no one inspired by their effective call to persecution, can act against any Australians." - Greg Sheridan - theaustralian.com.au
>>19126550 Calls for Chinese-made DJI drones to be removed after 3000 devices found across government - More than 3000 drones and other devices manufactured by Chinese company DJI are owned by federal government agencies, despite the People's Liberation Army-linked technology being black-listed in the US. A government-wide audit by opposition cyber security spokesman James Paterson has revealed 3114 drones, cameras and other DJI-manufactured devices were in the possession of agencies ranging from the National Portrait Gallery of Australia to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Some devices are batteries and gimbals - camera stabilisers that do not connect to the internet - but most are cameras and drones with internet connectivity. Senator Paterson said the widespread use of the DJI devices demonstrated the need for Australia to follow the example of Britain and introduce a new office within the Department of Home Affairs to assess risks posed by technology originating from "auth?oritarian countries.''
>>19138979 Security concerns raised as state MPs plan China junket - Victorian state Labor MPs are planning a ten-day junket in China to learn the country's culture and gather "three years' worth of social media content", prompting national security concerns from experts and the federal Coalition. The September trip's itinerary, drafted by Victorian MP Will Fowles and leaked by Labor figures worried about the wisdom of the visit, also advised MPs how to utilise their $10,000 annual taxpayer-funded travel allowance by making bookings before June 30 so next financial year's allowance remained. Occurring months after Premier Daniel Andrews faced scrutiny for a trip to China, the jaunt promises MPs "an appreciation of Chinese culture", "a working understanding of how business in China operates", and "an understanding of how Chinese government works".
>>19139019 Hong Kong dissident and Labor member wants MPs' China trip cancelled - An Australian lawyer and Labor Party member with a bounty on his head for criticising the China-led rights crackdown in Hong Kong has urged Andrews government MPs to abandon a planned trip to China, arguing the visit was a "propaganda" tour that insulted his plight. Kevin Yam, 47, is one of two Australia-based activists accused by Hong Kong police of national security offences, including foreign collusion. Authorities have offered $130,000 for information leading to his arrest and urged Australia to "stop providing a safe haven for fugitives". Yam, who is also a rank and file member of the Australian Labor Party, told this masthead he was disappointed to learn of a 10-day September junket being planned by a group of state Labor MPs who intend to learn about Chinese culture and business. "You'll never see the real China on these trips," he said. "If you're talking about a cultural exchange - we all know these sorts of trips are not really about that. It's about China trying to show a positive side of itself to a bunch of unwitting regional-level Australian MPs. "And why now? Especially given in my case as an ALP member, I have a bounty over me and MPs are going on what they think is a cultural exchange. But really it is a propaganda trip. I certainly hope they would reconsider whether this is the right timing for something like this given an Australian citizen and fellow ALP member has got this over his head."

#19188932 at 2023-07-16 09:43:46 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#30 - Part 69
Australia / China Tensions - Part 7
>>19126437 Australia PM says Hong Kong bounty on overseas activists 'unacceptable' - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday it was "unacceptable" that Hong Kong has put bounties on two Australian residents who are among eight overseas democracy activists wanted under a national security law. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said on Tuesday eight overseas-based Hong Kong activists who were issued with arrest warrants for alleged national security offences would be "pursued for life". "It's just unacceptable," Albanese said of the Hong Kong announcement in a Nine television interview. "We will continue to cooperate with China where we can, but we will disagree where we must. And we do disagree over human rights issues." Australia's opposition leader Peter Dutton said it was "completely unacceptable that Australians should be tracked down or hunted down".
>>19126468 Australian businesses in the dark about China's new spy laws - Beijing's new anti-espionage laws, which came into effect days before Hong Kong police put a bounty on two Australian residents, have further raised the risk Australian companies could have staff ?detained for what would be deemed ordinary business activities outside of China. The brazen extraterritorial application of Hong Kong's sweeping National Security Law in Melbourne and Adelaide on Monday has underlined just how serious Xi Jinping's regime is about snuffing out behaviour it deems "anti China" and a threat to the Communist Party's rule. It shocked many Australians with dealings in China, a country already known for arbitrary detention. Concerns were already elevated over Beijing's new anti-espionage laws, which took effect over the weekend. Opposition defence spokesman James Paterson said the Coalition was "gravely concerned" over the police bounties. "This represents an unacceptable attempt to silence and intimidate critics of the Chinese government living in Australia, and further demonstrates the corrosive effects of the National Security Law to democratic principles and the rule of law in Hong Kong," Senator Paterson said
>>19126504 China tells Australia to stop harbouring Hong Kong 'fugitives', DFAT updates travel advice - China's Foreign Ministry has told Australia to stop sheltering fugitives, after Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed deep concern over Hong Kong issuing arrest warrants for eight overseas-based activists, including two living in Australia. Australian citizen and legal scholar Kevin Yam, and former Hong Kong politician Ted Hui, who fled the island and now lives in Adelaide, were among the eight people wanted for alleged breaches under the controversial national security law. Asked about the condemnation from Western countries, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning alleged Mr Yam and the others had engaged in "anti-China activities aimed at destabilising Hong Kong". "We strongly deplore and firmly oppose individual countries' flagrant slandering against the national security law for Hong Kong and interference in the rule of law in Hong Kong," she said. "Relevant countries need to respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong, stop lending support for anti-China elements destabilising Hong Kong, and stop providing a safe haven for fugitives."
>>19126523 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on July 4, 2023 - "Kevin Yam and the others have long been engaging in anti-China activities aimed at destabilizing Hong Kong. After fleeing overseas, they have acted in an even more outrageous way to create trouble and continued to instigate the division of the country and subversion of state power, acting as pawns for external anti-China forces in their effort to interfere in Hong Kong affairs. Their abominable moves gravely violate the national security law for Hong Kong, seriously threaten the bottom line of One Country, Two Systems, severely harm the fundamental interests of Hong Kong and gravely jeopardize China's sovereignty, security and development interests."

#19188930 at 2023-07-16 09:42:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#30 - Part 68
Australia / China Tensions - Part 6
>>19094098 Corruption inquiry in Australia uncovers China links to state lawmaker - The former premier of Australia's most populous state engaged in corrupt conduct involving another lawmaker with whom she was in a secret romantic relationship, a years-long corruption inquiry that examined business dealings with China said on Thursday. The New South Wales Independent Commission into Corruption (ICAC) said in a report that Gladys Berejiklian had failed to notify the commission of her concerns that Daryl Maguire, a member of the state assembly with whom she was in a relationship during her term of office, may have engaged in corrupt conduct, and this undermined the ministerial code.
>>19104349 Australia, Solomon Islands to review security pact after China moves in - Australia and Solomon Islands will review their bilateral security treaty in a move experts say is aimed at checking China's burgeoning security partnership with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government. Following a meeting with Mr Sogavare in Honiara, Defence Minister Richard Marles said the treaty would be updated to reflect the "contemporary" security environment in the Solomon Islands, including the presence of an Australian-led Pacific nations peacekeeping force.
>>19104518 Japan, Australia, US stage joint drill - Japan, Australia and the US are holding an annual joint drill in Queensland, northeastern Australia. It's aimed at streamlining defense cooperation as China ramps up its maritime activities. A record-high number of some 2,500 personnel from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force, the Australian Army and the US Marine Corps are taking part in the exercise, called "Southern Jackaroo."
>>19104539 Australia and Japan conduct war games in contested waters, closely watched by Chinese military - An Australian warship and surveillance aircraft have conducted military exercises with Japan in the South China Sea under the close watch of the People's Liberation Army. The war games, which took place over the past weekend in strategically contested waters, focused on tactical operations, including anti-surface and anti-air warfare, but were not publicised by the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Sources with knowledge of the two-day exercises have confirmed China's People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) was in "the vicinity" of the activity but did not interact directly with the Australian warship or aircraft. The Commander of Japan's first surface unit for the Indo-Pacific Deployment 2023, Rear Admiral Takahiro NishiYama, said his nation and Australia were considered "special strategic partners". "Like our country, Australia, an ally of the United States, is a 'Special Strategic Partner' in the Indo-Pacific region, sharing not only universal values but also strategic interests in security," the rear admiral said in a statement.
>>19120607 Hong Kong police put bounty on two high-profile Australian residents - Hong Kong police have put a $HK1m ($191,800) bounty on Melbourne-based Australian lawyer Kevin Yam and Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong politician who now lives in Adelaide, in an unprecedented application of the Beijing-authored National Security Law. Announcing the bounties late on Monday, Chief Superintendent Steven Li said Hong Kong's police force "won't stop chasing them", setting up a confrontation with an Australian government already straining to maintain the recent "stabilisation" of relations with China. "We are absolutely not staging any show or spreading fear. We are enforcing law," said Superintendent Li at a press conference in Hong Kong.
>>19120614 'Hilarious': Hong Kong activists in Australia slam China's arrest threat - Hong Kong activists living in Australia who have had a bounty put on them by the Chinese government have dismissed the threat as a stunt, arguing it reveals how powerless Beijing has become against dissent overseas. The $HK1 million bounties ($192,000) were offered by Hong Kong police chief superintendent Steve Li on Monday night for information leading to the arrests of Melbourne lawyer Kevin Yam, who is an Australian citizen, and former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui, who has settled in Adelaide with his family. Hui, a pro-democracy leader, has had multiple warrants issued for his arrest since he left Hong Kong in 2020 after his family's accounts were locked by HSBC, Hang Seng Bank and Bank of China. Hui, who led protests against Beijing's growing influence over Hong Kong in 2019, said he did not fear for his or his family's safety in Australia. "I think the bounty is ridiculous and hilarious. It can only be a high-profile gesture without any legal effects. Free countries will not extradite us because of that. It only shows how powerless the Chinese Communist Party is in response to the Hong Kong diaspora who advocates for freedom and democracy."

#17453523 at 2022-08-28 07:48:20 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

#25 - Part 21
Australia / China Tensions - Part 10
>>17385071 mhar4 Tweet: Chinese FM Wang Yi on Taiwan: "The "Taiwan independence" forces' attempt to seek independence by soliciting U.S. support is nothing but a fantasy, which is doomed to be a dead end, and it will only tighten the noose around their necks."
>>17385088 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China - Wang Yi Elaborates on China's Position on the Taiwan Question at a Press Conference for Chinese and Foreign Media - 2022-08-06
>>17385676 Taiwan urges world to follow Penny Wong's stance on China - Taiwan named Australia as a model for other countries to follow as the imperilled liberal democracy called for international support to help it withstand a campaign of extraordinary Chinese military intimidation
>>17385701 Liberals pressure Dutton to ease up on China hard line - Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is under pressure to adopt a more nuanced approach in the ?Coalition's attacks on Beijing, with new analysis revealing massive swings against the Liberal Party in seats with high numbers of Chinese-Australian voters
>>17385712 Peter Dutton won't waver on China - Peter Dutton says standing up for Australia's national interest is "not a condemnation of people of Chinese heritage" and declared he would not back down from attacking the hostile actions of Xi Jinping's Chinese Communist Party
>>17385732 China's ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian warns Beijing will use any means necessary for Taiwan 'reunification'
>>17385756 We'll take Taiwan: Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian pledges no retreat
>>17385784 China plans re-education 'once Taiwan is united' - Taiwan's 23 million people face a campaign of re-education if the self-governed island is taken over by China, with China's top diplomat to Australia saying Beijing was set to use "any means necessary" to achieve reunification
>>17385808 Chinese ambassador to Australia condemns US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan - Beijing's top diplomat in Canberra has broken his silence on a controversial move by the US that infuriated Beijing
>>17385832 Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, issues startling warning about Taiwan and makes farcical claim - Speaking in Canberra, the Chinese ambassador to Australia made a particularly striking claim about the people of Taiwan - "I believe that the majority of the people in Taiwan believe they're Chinese. They believe Taiwan is part of China and Taiwan is a province of China. They are for reunion."

>>17385896 China's Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian has been blasted after insisting the basic rights of Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who has been detained in a Beijing prison for almost two years, were "well protected"
>>17386111 China plans to turn Taiwan into Hong Kong, says it will use force as a last resort - China's state council has proposed imposing Hong Kong's "one country, two systems" policy on Taiwan and said it would not renounce the use of force to take the island
>>17386118 China releases white paper on Taiwan question, reunification in new era - Xinhua - english.www.gov.cn
>>17386119 Full text: The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era - The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and The State Council Information Office - The People's Republic of China
>>17386131 Video: IN FULL: Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian delivers address to Australia's National Press Club - Aug 10, 2022 - ABC News (Australia)
>>17386135 Video: Journalists question Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian - Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian says the relationship between the two countries has been "difficult" in recent times, but adds a change of government has provided an "opportunity to reset" relations - Aug 10, 2022 - ABC News (Australia)
>>17386345 Beijing's charmless offensive loses hearts in free world - China can portray itself as strong and commanding at home but its propaganda falls apart in the West where doublespeak and absurdities are quickly exposed - Kevin Yam - theaustralian.com.au
>>17386406 Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Adelaide - Remarks by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Consulate General in Adelaide on Pelosi's Visit to China's Taiwan Region - 2022-08-09
>>17386426 Chinese Ambassador calls for Canberra's independent foreign policy 'free from third party interference' - Fan Anqi - globaltimes.cn
>>17386439 Australia's review of Defense Force shows military ambitions, concern over US' decline - Lu Xue - globaltimes.cn

#17386353 at 2022-08-13 11:47:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17386345

2/2

Further, as China's domestic propaganda has become increasingly nationalistic in recent years, its messages to the world have followed suit. Threats such as those last week from China's ambassador in France to subject conquered Taiwanese to "re-education" (and we know what that has meant in places such as Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong) is now the norm.

The strident, hectoring and threatening words and deeds from Beijing nowadays alienate public opinion in the free world, even in places such as Taiwan and Australia with economies that are closely linked to China. But Beijing cannot soften its face to the world without being considered weak by the nationalistic domestic populace.

Ultimately, China's failure to win over hearts and minds in the free world reflects a fundamental weakness in its much-vaunted propaganda machinery. It is highly effective in China or in places where China-friendly strongmen censor narratives that run against China's official lines. In such information and opinion bubbles, China can hone its messages for effective public charm offensives.

However, in places where China's official lines can freely be questioned, its propaganda efforts fall apart. In the free world, China's stridency merely seems nasty and insecure rather than strong and commanding. Its doublespeak and absurdities are exposed. Its unwillingness to brook dissent (unlike, say, America's tolerance of protests around the free world against its policies) looks petty. Its acts of political, economic, cyber and military coercion appear downright nefarious.

China's attempts at charm offensives in the free world may work on certain elites with direct vested interests, but they fail on the wider public. Charm offensives minus the charm are just, well, offensive. And when the public is offended, even free world politicians whose first instincts may be pro-China must bend to their public's China-sceptic will.

Kevin Yam was a Hong Kong-based lawyer and pro-democracy activist. He now resides in Melbourne.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/chinas-charmless-offensive-loses-hearts-in-free-world/news-story/add0a00daab2c6fa93a52f1739535373

#17386345 at 2022-08-13 11:45:36 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

>>17385732
Beijing's charmless offensive loses hearts in free world

China can portray itself as strong and commanding at home but its propaganda falls apart in the West where doublespeak and absurdities are quickly exposed.

Kevin Yam - August 11, 2022

1/2

Defence Minister Richard Marles was once considered a friend of China. Now the Chinese party state media outlet Global Times declares that "Marles's string of comments on the so-called China threat make it increasingly difficult to distinguish him from his extremely anti-China Liberal predecessor Peter Dutton".

More than 15,000km away, former British chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak had previously called for improved relations with China. But recently the Conservative prime ministerial hopeful has declared China and the Chinese Communist Party "the largest threat to Britain and the world's security and prosperity this century".

And in Taiwan, the increasingly pro-Beijing Nationalist Party chairman Eric Chu withstood pressure from China-friendly factions within his party to publicly support last week's visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The evolving public positions of Marles, Sunak and Chu line up with the evolving attitudes of Australian, British and Taiwanese voters, who have become increasingly sceptical about China's words, actions and intentions. Such scepticism has been observed across the free world.

University of Sydney China Studies Centre director David Goodman recently gave some advice to Beijing in an interview with the Global Times: "(A) publicity campaign, that's what the US has had for some time through Hollywood, music, sports, and all kinds of ways in which it has a better reputation ... China could encourage things like that if it wants to influence the government and public opinion."

China repeatedly says it seeks to win hearts and minds around the world. But try as China might, it will likely struggle to succeed in the foreseeable future.

Let's start with censorship. It has always existed in China, but for many years there was still relative freedom to produce thought-provoking entertainment con?tent, so long as current politics was not directly touched on.

But, under Xi Jinping, censorship has tightened. Everything from imperial court intrigues and corruption dramas, to content alluding to societal ills, "girly men" performers, Tang Dynasty period costumes showing cleavage and karaoke songs that do not promote the party state's notion of positivity and more became taboo.

In private, my entertainment industry friends and professional acquaintances in Hong Kong and China have complained about increasing difficulties in getting interesting content released in China.

Things that easily get past censors nowadays tend to be unquestioningly nationalistic works or bland plot lines where clean-cut good guys always win and similarly clean-cut bad guys always lose. Such dreary content is hardly going to take the free world public by storm.

(continued)