There are some political endorsements which matter for all the wrong reasons. For instance, for years, the last, tiny, remnants of the KKK have desperately grasped for relevance by ‘endorsing’ various presidential candidates (including not just Donald Trump, but Hillary Clinton, which the media too often choose to forget).
But if the KKK are irrelevant, the Chinese Communist Party very much are not – and they’re making very clear (again) who they’d prefer to run Australia.
Chinese state media has accused Peter Dutton of “beating ‘the drums of war’ against China” and praised Anthony Albanese for speaking the “truth”, as Beijing said it maintains a position of “noninterference” in elections after a Chinese deep sea research vessel sailed into the Australian campaign.
Rule of thumb: if China wants it, it’s probably a really bad idea.
It’s not the first time China has interfered in an Australian election in Labor’s favour. At the last federal election and in multiple state elections, Beijing has not just openly endorsed Labor, but attempted to install and bankroll candidates. ASIO confirmed in 2022 that the CCP had attempted to install and fund ‘puppet’ Labor candidates.
Prior to that, it was revealed that, at Labor fundraisers, CCP-linked ‘businessmen’ had handed over literal shopping bags full of cash. Former Labor senator and powerbroker Sam Dastyari was also exposed running interference for a Chinese property developer linked to the CCP. Dastyari was caught out alerting the spy to the fact that his phones were being monitored.
Well, they certainly got their money’s worth. Just weeks ago, a Chinese fleet popped up in the Tasman Sea with both the government and the Australian Defence Force completely unaware. Elements of the fleet proceeded to brazenly encircle the entire continent.
In a further act of provocation, a Chinese ‘research’ vessel is currently busy mapping the Australian seabed – without a word of protest from PM Anthony Albanese.
The passage of the Tan Suo Yi Hao, a Chinese research vessel, along the south coast of Australia has been the centre of a loud debate during the first week of the election campaign, with the Opposition leader accusing the Prime Minister of a “wet lettuce” response. Security analysts warn the vessel has dual purpose military applications and was likely studying Australia’s undersea oceanography for the benefit of the PLA navy.
What was Albanese’s response. ‘I would prefer that it wasn’t there.’ Which is about the most pathetic, limp-wristed response since John Kerry’s, ‘Well, he’s not supposed to be doing that’ (when a jihadi he released from Gitmo promptly went straight back to jihadin’).
It’s also emerged that China didn’t give up interfering in Australian politics when they were caught out in 2022.
Anthony Albanese has “serious” questions to answer, the opposition says, after a senior office-bearer for a Chinese organisation red-flagged as an agent of foreign influence attended one of the Labor leader’s fundraisers.
The Australian on Sunday revealed that Sydney restaurateur James Chan – who had previously denied any link to the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China – had been listed as a vice-president of the organisation from 2016 to as recently as November last year.
The ACPPRC in 2023 became the first group to be declared a foreign government-related entity under the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus. The ACPPRD has been described as an arm of the Chinese Communist Party’s Untied [sic] Front department, which seeks to cultivate influence on, and proximity to, international governments.
Naturally, Albo can’t control himself when a Chinese spy agency is flashing the cash.
Contrariwise, we know who China very much doesn’t want to win the election. Just ask the CCP’s propaganda newspaper.
The Global Times said Dutton was exploiting the issue for political gain ahead of the election […]
The Opposition Leader on Wednesday continued to criticise the Prime Minister for “projecting weakness”, arguing that the Australian Defence Force – not the Border Force – should be monitoring the Chinese research ship as it circumnavigates Australia.
“We’ve got the Prime Minister saying one thing, the Defence Minister saying another about whether it’s Border Force or whether it’s Defence or who’s got the lead here and who’s providing the surveillance,” Mr Dutton told Sky News.
In other words, he’s the perfect, clueless, puppet for Beijing.
