8 ms·

A relevant book: Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36586726-silent-invasion https://www.goodreads.com/book/sh

• RachelF 7y ago
  Interestingly China managed to get the book censored and withdrawn by threatening the original publisher [1]. It was later taken up by an independent publisher. [1] https://www.smh.com.au/national/free-speech-fears-after-book-critical-of-china-is-pulled-from-publication-20171112-gzjiyr.html https://www.smh.com.au/national/free-speech-fears-after-book...
• mytailorisrich 7y ago
  When people try to paint China as a dangerous expansionist country I just point out that Australia was ruthlessly settled less than 200 years ago by the British, and is under strong US influence.
  • mhh__ 7y ago
    Does that matter today? It doesn't forgive the past but people don't dissapear in Britain unless they've been assassinated by Vlad
    • mytailorisrich 7y ago
      It does matter today when people basically cry "yellow peril" ('Silent-invasion', could the author have picked a more inflammatory term?) because China is simply re-asserting itself in the world and developing its influence in Asia-Pacific. They are doing what we're doing: Trying to influence. We are so used to a world lopsided to the West that we don't realise that this is not a 'normal' state of affairs in historical and demographic terms.
      • King-Aaron 7y ago
        So you'd be happy for a hostile invasion of Australia by the Chinese, because "China is simply re-asserting itself in the world"?
      • mhh__ 7y ago
        After all China's brilliant record on human rights makes its "reassertion" a gift from god in disguise!
      • BLKNSLVR 7y ago
        How do you feel about the people of Hong Kong asserting themselves? I believe Taiwan and Tibet may be overdue for some re-assertion.
      • AlexCoventry 7y ago
        > people basically cry "yellow peril" The author is very careful to distinguish critiquing the policies of the PRC from bigotry towards Chinese people.
        • mytailorisrich 7y ago
          Using the terms 'PRC' and 'CCP' rather that 'Chinese' is transparent. This is stroking the "yellow peril" fantasy, nothing more. Sensationalism mixed with thinly-veiled racism. It sells books...
          • AlexCoventry 7y ago
            Is there a way he could have framed the substance of his critique which you wouldn't have construed as racist?
            • deleted 7y ago
              [deleted]
      • austhrow743 7y ago
        Who cares what a 'normal' state of affairs is in historical and demographic terms? Everyone who came up against British expansion was/is right to be concerned. Everyone facing Chinese expansion is right to be concerned.
  • Paradigma11 7y ago
    Well, China settled the Xinjiang province less than 300 years ago even more ruthlessly: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzungar_genocide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzungar_genocide
  • BLKNSLVR 7y ago
    Does that actually work in distracting these people from the fact that China is a dangerous expansionist country? What you say is true, but there's not much we can do about anything that happened 200 years ago. Preventing escalation into a war due to China claiming ownership of busy shipping channels, for example, is something that is probably worthwhile attempting now, rather than pointing to it with a cringe in 2219.
    • mytailorisrich 7y ago
      China is not a "dangerous expansionist country". China is playing the game that we wrote the rules of.
      • joejerryronnie 7y ago
        This planet isn’t big enough for two dangerous expansionist countries! Showdown at the South China Sea, high noon, 2022.
      • stjohnswarts 7y ago
        It's both. Two wrongs don't make a right. Why are you supporting the Chinese in this or justifying their attack on Australian sovereignty?
    • amaccuish 7y ago
      Countries like Australia and the US act is if they're the fair enforcers for the world, when in reality, they just want to defend the status quo that benefits them. They act as if they have a god given right to occupy their positions on the world stage when in reality they played far dirtier than China to get where they are. And if you're say Russia, even virtually surrounded by NATO, they're constantly being accused of being expanionalist. And the same with China. So I think it's totally OK to bring up history, because if we look at China's rise compared with the rise of Western countries, we see that China's path to supremacy has been far more peaceful.
      • jacques_chester 7y ago
  • pimmen 7y ago
    I don't think it works. I'm Swedish and knew about Australia's history, but since China still has a kidnapped Swede in custody right now for publishing a book in Hong Kong, I'm more afraid of China than Australia.
  • deogeo 7y ago
    When someone gets punched in the face, do you also point out that they, too, have wronged others in the past, so they shouldn't put their guard up?