The Communist Party of China may have decided to 'take Australia out of one category of countries that it deals with' as the bilateral relationship between the two nations continues to deteriorate says Melbourne University Professor Michael Wesley.
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The Communist Party of China may have decided to "take Australia out of one category of countries that it deals with" as the bilateral relationship between the two nations continues to deteriorate says Melbourne University Professor Michael Wesley. Australia no longer has any correspondents in China following the rushed removal of two Australian journalists over fears for their safety.
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Australia must 'normalise' relations with China without 'trading away' core values | Sky News AustraliaLiberal Senator Andrew Bragg says it is 'very troubling' to hear Australia no longer has any correspondents in China following the rushed removal of two Australian journalists over fears for their safety.\n\nJournalists Bill Birtles and Michael Smith landed in Sydney yesterday after being evacuated from China by the Department of Foreign Affairs after Chinese authorities demanded they present themselves for questioning in relation to Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist who was detained in Beijing last month. \n\nMr Bragg told Sky News it was a “regrettable” situation but he looked forward “to the normalisation of relations over the medium term”. \n\n“I don’t think it’s a very good look to have effectively expelled Australian journalists,” he said. \n\n“Not only does it deprive us of real media, real intelligence on what’s happening on the ground but it also is a bit of a vote of no confidence in our day-to-day engagement.”\n\nWhen asked whether it would be a good move for Australia to begin expelling Chinese diplomats from the country, Mr Bragg said they would be hard-pressed to find the government “stooping to use those sorts of tactics”. \n\n“We don’t engage in censorship in this country,” he said. \n\n“The reality is, China is an important country to Australia, it will be important to our future and we need to focus on normalising relations over the medium term without trading away any of the values that we hold dear.” \n\nImage: Getty
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Rush to remove Aussie journalists from China ‘highly disturbing’: Penny Wong | Sky News AustraliaShadow Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has reinforced the Labor Party’s support for a free press following a rush to return two Australian journalists from China over safety concerns.\n\nAustralian journalists Bill Birtles and Mike Smith were both flown home to Sydney following an encounter between ABC journalist Bill Birtles and the local police where he was asked to surrender himself for interviews.\n\nMs Wong described the situation as “highly disturbing”.\n\n“Australians believe that the right to freedom of expression, the right to freedom of opinion and the right of the press to press freedom is a core Australian value,' she said. \n\n“We believe Australian journalists and journalist everywhere should be able to do their work safely without the risk of intimidation or arbitrary detention'. \n\nMs Wong said a core national belief was the media plays a vital role in fostering respect and mutual understanding, key themes highlighted by the Chinese Embassies Deputy Head of Mission who spoke at a recent National Press Club address.\n\n“The return of these two journalists mean that Australia is, I think, without an Australian organisation having a representation in China for the first time since the 1970s.' \n\nImage: News Corp Australia
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China is looking increasingly ‘aggressive dictatorial and isolated’ | Sky News AustraliaDemocratic nations across the world are beginning to “rally together” against China after its leadership increasingly starts to isolate itself, according to former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer.\n\nIt comes as two Australian journalists were rushed back from China to Sydney after officials in Beijing raised concerns over their safety.\n\nThe ABC’s Bill Birtles and the Australian Financial Review’s Michael Smith were told by Australian officials to return home, but before they could Chinese security officers visited their homes wanting to talk regarding the Cheng Lei investigation.\n\nMr Downer told Sky News host Chris Kenny this is emblematic of a “huge change” in the way China is engaging foreign nations.\n\n“It has decided it’s going to be cutting itself off diplomatically from the rest of the world through behaving like this,” he said.\n\n“Let them – as time goes by – work out that this kind of diplomacy is just never going to advance China’s national interest.\n\n“People around the world, particularly around the democratic world, are just alarmed by what they’re doing and it’s making them look aggressive, dictatorial, and it’s making them increasingly isolated.”\n\nImage: AP
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‘Deeply worrying’ events shows just ‘how little we can trust China’ | Sky News AustraliaSky News host Chris Kenny says what has happened to the Australian correspondents in China is deeply worrying and shows just how badly the relationship between the two nations is deteriorating. \n\n“More to the point, it goes to show how little we can trust China, how brutal the government is and how it doesn't care a jot for freedom, fairness and the rule of law”. \n\nIt comes as two Australian journalists have landed in Sydney after being rushed home from China following advice from officials in Beijing around fears for their safety.\n\nChinese authorities questioned them in regards to the Cheng Lei investigation.\n\nMr Kenny said Bill Birtles from the ABC and Michael Smith from the Australian Financial Review “were effectively spirited out of the country by our diplomats, after sheltering at our embassy and our Shanghai consulate”. \n\n“Australia has been open and upfront with China, fair and generous,” Mr Kenny said. \n\n“In response, Beijing is punishing us for standing up for our own interests and standing up for full transparency over the coronavirus pandemic”. \n\nImage: AP
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China interference inquiry is 'baffling', says Sydney University bossSydney's leading university vice-chancellors have defended themselves against accusations they are susceptible to Chinese political interference | natassiazc
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Self-inflicted wound: Trump would severely damage the US if he carries out his China threatOpinion: Donald Trump is hardening his threat to 'decouple' the US economy from China’s. The prospect that, if he were to win re-election in November, he might follow through with that ought to send shivers through corporate America and their western peers
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