Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.
Tweets are another thing.
It seems rather ridiculous that it was an offensive and juvenile post on Twitter that caused more public outrage at China from Australia than any of its actual harmful and ultimately dangerous actions over the years.
Sure the Chinese — unlike the Russians who also took a shot over the Brereton report this week — haven’t shot down a passenger liner which killed 39 Australians. But Australian defence forces are engaged in tense naval exercises against China in the South China Sea because, let’s not forget, it invaded and militarised the Spratly Islands.
Obviously the tweet was the final straw because there has been a litany of atrocities — from imprisoning Australians in China without due process, trying to corrupt or recruit our elected officials, ongoing cyber attacks on our public and private institutions, and even stealing the plans to our new ASIO office.
Remember it was only in June this year that Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared in a dramatic press conference to announce we were under attack, although he declined to actually name the culprit adopting the usual euphemism “sophisticated state-based actor”.
Our PM was not so shy when it came to the Twitter post this week, going into full-on war mode with urgent video in front of the flag demanding an apology from China.
(This from the man who never once criticised his close mate of 2019 Donald Trump who was responsible for weaponising Twitter with his countless undiplomatic tweets and his retweeting fake offensive posts.)
It should also be noted that the doctored Chinese photo in the “repugnant” tweet referred to our real and damaging Brereton report into special forces’ alleged atrocities. (It should not be confused with today’s absolutely vile real photo in The Guardian showing an Australian soldier drinking out of the prosthetic leg of a dead Taliban fighter.)
If the Chinese had waited two days they might have been able to make a more valid comparison with America’s shameful Abu Ghraib photos. They probably still will. Cue more outrage.
In no way am I trivialising the tweet which symbolises everything that is offensive about China and its contemptuous attitude to a too-compliant Australia over too many years.
For decades I have been called out for my fierce criticism of China from the left, from the right (who I often had to remind were defending “communists”), to the craven business community which claimed I was naive and even unAustralian for daring to question “our biggest trading partner”.
And don’t get me wrong. I’m delighted the mask is now off and most Australians, including politicians, have been vindicated in their recent moves to push back against China on everything from Huawei bans to foreign interference laws.
If only the business sycophants would follow suit — but of course they are either strangely silent while privately blaming their own government for everything or else publicly calling for calm, by which they mean continue to kowtow to China.
They never acknowledge their complicity in the financial pain they’re feeling by becoming too beholden to one customer. They now find themselves collateral damage even before the great Twitter war.
The overnight global campaign of support for our wine industry is to be welcomed, and exactly what was needed.
The same global outrage over the tweet is also welcome and diplomacy will hopefully be the solution. But will words speak louder than actions?
I was more concerned that the Chinese landed on the moon this morning and plans to take a few scientific samples. On past form let’s hope that’s all they do with a rocky outpost in the middle of nowhere.
Still pushing the same rubbish that you always have on Sky eh? Your entire article reflects the one eyed White Nationalist view that Australia can do no wrong and that we are morally superior. Newsflash: we lost that position (not for the first time either) when members of the ADF committed war crimes. The complete lack of knowledge of China by you and your Murdoch mates is astounding. Combine that with our double standards (it’s ok for us to criticize them but not for them to return the favour) and we have a recipe for complete disaster. Crikey including you as a contributor does them no credit. Hillsong Scotty’s temper tantrum just reflects the childish one eyed view that his base has. He needs to put on his big boy pants, don his dress thongs and take a flight to Beijing to sort this out. If you treat China as your enemy, they will become your enemy.
China-Australia relations, where words now speak louder than actions
Is there an aspect of life under Australia’s current PM Morrison where words do not speak louder than actions? Every day he announces or re-announces, in his long-winded way, some intention. But back in January he told us he didn’t hold a hose and since then he has taken no real action that I can recall.
My old Scots grandmother liked the word blatherskite. In 2020 I have found myself using the word frequently.
Oh, I dunno, MJM, I reckon the photo of the SAS ‘action’ drinking from the prosthetic leg of a dead Afghani, spoke pretty loud.
On that, a number around the traps today have questioned the bit of the narrative about the looted leg (war crime, that – “pillaging”) belonging to a dead Taliban combatant.
Perhaps the prosthetic might suggest he was a ‘former’ Taliban combatant?
David McBride thought it a worthy query.
First we de-industrialise our economy under the theory of comparative advantage, then we allow ourselves to become dependent on China for our three main exports (coal, iron ore, and international education), then we start a cold war against that country but not after selling them the port of Darwin, and then we throw a tantrum when they release a tweet that is offensive because it is true.
What happens now?
Our ruling elite are madmen, hypocrites who don’t really give a fig about human rights and the Uighurs and democracy in HK because if they did we would not have gone to war in Iraq with no legal basis or appointed a ex-Afghanistan veteran general to be our Governor General or be the great supporters of our very good friends, the Saudis.
Our foreign policy has no integrity. I am so tired of these Pentecostal idiots and defence fundamentalists who speak in tongues and drag us towards stupidity.
Is this what you were trying to say, Janine?
Who are we supposedly not selling coal and iron to? I won’t argue with the education part, though they didn’t ‘allow themselves’ to become reliant on international students in general, they actively don’t want to provide the funding.
“Our foreign policy has no integrity. I am so tired of these Pentecostal idiots and defence fundamentalists who speak in tongues and drag us towards stupidity.”
Fk – I love it when you talk dirty.
Just to add a small note – the Spratly Islands were mostly rocky outcrops on the South China Sea. No one lived there so it was hardly an invasion in the sense of people being displaced. They also had numerous regional countries claiming them. I don’t condone this, by the way, but think it’s worth clarifying the situation in that regard.
Exactly what I was thinking Agnes. “Invasion”, not the right word and this was decades ago. Since then, relations have been relatively good, till now.
I hate to clutter up this discussion with facts but the Spratly Islands were formally recognized as belonging to China in the 1887 Chinese Vietnamese Boundary Convention following the Sino-French War. Japan took control of these between 1939 and 1945 and returned control to China in 1945. Vietnam also recognized China’s sovereignty until North Vietnam defeated South Vietnam and the Americans (at which time they rescinded their recognition as they no longer needed China’s support).
The Philippines were reminded by the US in 1956 that under the 1898 Treaty between the US and Spain that the Philippines did not include the Spratly Islands.
China has a valid historical claim to these Islands.
And they are in the South CHINA sea, for heaven’s sake. The US and Australian navies have as little right to sail up and down this stretch of water as the Chinese navy has sailing around inside the Gulf of Mexico.
Imagine if the odd Chinese cruiser were to meander around the Gulf of Carpentaria.
This really is complete crap that needs to be called out for what it is.
‘But Australian defence forces are engaged in tense naval exercises against China in the South China Sea because, let’s not forget, it invaded and militarised the Spratly Islands’
Do you seriously think China doesn’t have more of an interest in the South China Sea than Australia? Hint, it’s in the fricking name.
I didn’t notice China invading Iraq without invitation.
This analysis is really low grade for Crikey I’m sorry to say.
Creaky has a lot of exNewsCorpse hacks writing the same drivel as they did when kissing the Sun King’s Ring.
Including the editor.
Could be a pattern here…