From Beijing Bob (Carr) today:
Sooner or later Canberra is going to decide to reset its relationship with Beijing. In one year, or in five. Here are seven things that can make it possible.
One, drop the stridency. Joe Hockey referred last week to China threatening what Australians “fought and died for”.
Two, on foreign donations, go further. Ban those from any source that may reasonably be thought to be seeking to influence Australian foreign policy, even from Australian citizens who may have foreign policy fixations.
Three, the Prime Minister should talk to John Howard about how he hauled the Australia-China relationship back on track after a less serious rupture in 1996.
Four, close down the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China. For Coalition and Labor politicians who have attended its annual dinners, it has functioned as a charitable organisation (raising funds to send Australian eye surgeons into Tibet, for example) and an umbrella organisation for the Chinese community. Whether its links with China’s United Front Work Department are vestigial or active, they are now a distraction.
Five, stop the fear campaign about Chinese students. Here the headlines have been unsubstantiated and racist-edged.
Six, hose down the US embassy. Two years ago US ambassador John Berry looked at a Chinese company buying a port in Darwin, then pressed the panic button.
Seven, accentuate the positive. Since January the Australian government has had nothing to say about the China relationship that has risen above the language of a snarl.
Some more from me if we’re going to be a little more fair dinkum about this:
- Eight, close Beijing Bob’s Huang Dynasty think tank.
- Nine, halve immigration to a still very generous 100k per annum (which to his credit Beijing Bob supports).
- Ten, install a code of conduct for academic freedom and cut foreign student visa numbers.
- Eleven, police foreign buying of property properly.
- Twelve, seek balance in all foreign relations including working harder to engage the US in Asia and creating concerts of like-minded powers.
- Thirteen, security screen all potential MPs and publish the results.
- Fourteen, allow China to buy whatever natural resources assets it likes so long as competition is not threatened.
If we’re going to have golden harmony then let’s do it in ways that protect our freedom.
