LettersWhy Australian media need to get the balance right on China

Name: Australia ditched diplomacy for ‘adversarial approach’ to China and ‘a pat on the head’ from US
Uploaded: 2020-11-28T22:35:12.000Z
Duration: 7 min 55 s
Description: Australia ditched diplomacy for ‘adversarial approach’ to China and ‘a pat on the head’ from US

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Australian and Chinese flags are seen at the third China International Import Expo, in Shanghai on November 6. Photo: Reuters

Letters

Published: 6:35am, 29 Nov 2020Updated: 6:35am, 29 Nov 2020

I was watching Beverley O’Connor’s “The World” programme on Australia’s ABC News on November 26, in which she interviewed ABC’s international affairs analyst Stan Grant, Australian National University’s Yun Jiang and Jason Li from the Chinese Australian Forum. All expressed a desire to see an improvement in Australia-China relations. Forums like this play an important role in informing and educating Australian viewers about rapidly developing situations around the world.

All three interviewees rightfully identified the present climate of rivalry between the United States and China, and correctly urged Australian leaders to exercise more diplomacy.

There was also a (disappointing) consensus on “standing up for our values” against “human rights abuses in China”. To me, such statements are truisms akin to Senator Eric Abetz’s demanding Chinese Australians reject “the Chinese Communist Party dictatorship”.

It appears to me the one element lacking is canvassing speakers sympathetic to China’s position.

For example, on the issue of “detention camps” in Xinjiang, China says they are for re-education, vocational training, and the teaching of patriotic values. On the “crackdown on democracy protests in Hong Kong”, could it not just be a country exercising its right to control many months of senseless destruction and rioting? While I am not an expert on China and Hong Kong, there are many who are ready and able to explain China’s position. Why has the Australian media refrained from canvassing their views to achieve a balance and thereby cool the temperature?

07:55

Australia ditched diplomacy for ‘adversarial approach’ to China and ‘a pat on the head’ from US

Australia is confronting a bleak future in damaging our relationship with our largest trading partner. Yes, we must not forsake our values, but there is a diplomatic and conscionable way to exit this quagmire. That is, open our eyes to the values of a people who are facing different issues from ours and who have adopted a different path of governance.