Wednesday, May 03, 2017

Australia bows to the Dragon Throne

A view of Dongshih.

What happened at a meeting devoted to stopping the trade in blood diamonds? Focus Taiwan reports:
Participants at the Kimberley Process meeting hosted by Julie Bishop described "disgusting" and "extraordinary" scenes involving Chinese delegates, who "shouted over the welcome to country ceremony and forced the suspension of proceedings," The Sydney Morning Herald reported Wednesday.

The Taiwanese delegation was later ejected from the intergovernmental meeting at the request of the Chinese delegates who objected to their attendance, the report said.

The Chinese delegation noisily disrupted the official welcome ceremony and forced the suspension of at least one session on Monday, the report said.
J Michael Cole explained:
The four-day Kimberley Process intersessional meeting is chaired by Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop. This is the first time Australia hosts the intergovernmental meeting. Taiwan joined the Kimberley Process, which seeks to end the global trade in “blood,” or conflict, diamonds, as an observer in 2007.
Apparently later on African delegations with links to China also joined the "chorus".
Danielle Cave pointed out at the Lowy Interpreter:
Official rhetoric was completely disconnected from the facts on the ground and gave no hint that an international incident was unfolding. The Australian Government does not have a history of giving into heavy-handed tactics. But it, along with other countries, arguably self-censors to cater for how we think China will react to certain policies (for example, Australia's stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement with Taiwan). Despite their appalling behaviour, the Chinese delegation was rewarded with a diplomatic win – they achieved their intended outcome. Will the Australian Government self-censor next time they face a similar dilemma involving China? Will other governments, universities and NGOs self-censor to avoid such an embarrassing public spat?
Apparently the incident, in which Bishop's speech was repeatedly interrupted by the Chinese delegation shouting because Taiwan's representatives were in attendance, was actually broken in the news by a Zimbabwean paper. Only later did Australian media reports follow. Cave wonders what this means for the media in Australia.

It is deeply concerning. The Chinese should have been removed instantly. Not only has Australia, a democratic and US-allied state, shown it is spineless, but it has suggested that this tactic -- which cost China nothing to deploy -- can be effectively used at future meetings in other nations. The fact that it can use its African allies as mercenaries to support this tactic is even more disturbing. In the future I expect China may simply send them first into the breach, and remain outside the proceedings...

Foreign Policy reports on the event here.
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3 comments:

Scott said...

Clearly, these types of international meetings should not be held in Australia in the future. If the nations of the world actually care about the real problem-solving purposes of these meetings (in this case conflict diamonds), why do hosts nations allow China to so easily hijack, subvert and pervert the whole purpose of the meetings?? I recall that the WHO was similarly guilty during the SARS crisis.

Matt Stone said...

News organisations here are absolutely pathetic when it comes to China/Taiwan coverage. And unfortunately, The Sydney Morning Herald, once a high quality publication, is a faint shadow of its former self. Two days ago its parent company, Fairfax, laid off 125 staff – a quarter of its editorial workforce.

On a brighter note, The Australian has some positive Taiwan coverage. One politician, James Paterson, is calling for closer relations with Taiwan, based on 'shared liberal democratic values'. Paterson was part of a delegation that recently visited, and met President Tsai.:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/senator-james-paterson-calls-for-closer-relations-with-taiwan/news-story/dba515763a4178d31b38c85460f2d30a

Anonymous said...

When Australia is living with Chinese money and yet they insult China and invite Taiwan. This is totally unacceptable. Australia should not have dared to invite Taiwan without Chinese permission. Sooner or later they will pay for this behavior. China always takes its revenge sooner or later.