China American Cold War

So says Domain, in news that will shock nobody: Liberal MP Gladys Liu secured access to the federal government for a company and Liberal Party donor endorsed by the Chinese Communist Party and later implicated in a major organised crime probe into $1 million in suspected drug money.

How else to explain this propaganda: …Rather than a cause for a renewed security panic, the dairy deals suggests how economic engagement, trade, and investment can permit Australia to have a strong but not subservient relationship relationship with China.

Via AXIOS:  A week ago, U.S.

The Global Times obtained an exclusive video of self-proclaimed Chinese spy #WangLiqiang being tried for fraud at a Chinese court in 2016. https://t.co/arjVebRxes pic.twitter.com/PpWcrSWGGG — Global Times (@globaltimesnews) November 27, 2019 Make of that what you will.

Here’s the chart that will get somebody’s organs harvested imminently in Beijing.

So says Penny Wong buried deep in the Murdoch Press: Labor has accused the prime minister of running a protection racket for a Liberal MP facing questions about her ties to the Chinese government.

Kevin Rudd appears to think it’s the former: As we flagged earlier, Kevin Rudd returned to parliament today to launch Peter Hartcher’s Quarterly Essay on China’s attempts to build influence in Australia.

Via Peter Hartcher: Beijing’s overreach is producing the beginnings of a resistance in much of the world.

Via Antony Dapiran in Hong Kong: Landslide in Hong Kong: In which the silent majority speaks Dear friends, This is A Procrastination, an email newsletter from Hong Kong: City on Fire.

The pretend debate about Chinese influence in Australia plods on today.

Via Epoch Times: Elements of the immediate and long-term aftermath of a Hong Kong massacre may include the following catastrophic results for the CCP: The destruction of Hong Kong’s reputation as a safe and free haven for business.

Via SCMP: Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp has made huge gains in the early stages of the city’s fiercely contested district council elections on Sunday, taking all but 19 of the first 150 seats to declare.

This is what it has come to, via The Australian: ASIO is monitoring and advising the Andrews government on its controversial Belt and Road agreement, amid a dramatic surge in deals that have helped create a $10bn Chinese-Victorian export market.

Pretending to care is the bete noir of modern politics.

Via CNBC: China is heavily exposed to the U.S.

First it was the US Congress, via Reuters: The U.S.

Given the old bullyboy’s unhealthy hold over the national imagination regarding the future of Chinese ties, let’s explore where his vision would take us.

For a day supposedly dominated by “realism”, the obvious didn’t get a look in at The Australian’s Cowards of Canberra Conference yesterday.

From Paul Xeating just now: Paul Keating says Australia’s foreign policy lacks “any strategic realism” and is leaving the nation unable to effectively manage the rise of China as Donald Trump vacates the Asia Pacific region.

Via News: It’s undeniable that China’s influence around the world is increasing at a rapid rate and now countries just a stone’s throw away from our own are being taken over.

Via Bloomie: Hong Kong police and protesters hardened their battle lines over the weekend as violent clashes showed no signs of abating, leaving the city bracing for a second week of upheaval that risks disrupting pending elections.