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We need to say it loud and clear and reduce our dependency on Chinese money.

roenxi 7y ago
China is big the way oceans are big and unless there is a really ugly war they are going to be the preeminent power in the Asia-Pacific for this century. 'Reduce our dependency on Chinese money' is a nice idea, but that would be like trying to reduce our dependency on the United States. A very difficult tightrope to walk. Besides which, that sounds like a One-nation policy. That sort of sounds-sorta-racist/nationalist ideology won't fly in modern Australia.
- hdfbdtbcdg 7y ago
  Hang on are you accusing the OPs of racism because they are opposed to corruption?
  - roenxi 7y ago
    No. But that policy suggestion aligns with One Nation and is probably either going to be called racist and/or nationalist.
    - LilBytes 7y ago
      This isn't Facebook. HackerNews isn't about to go around accusing people of being OneNation sympathises though I do understand the position you're taking here. Being critical of the influence of fee-paying students in University can quickly become hyperbolic.
      - roenxi 7y ago
        The original comment was talking about blocking Chinese money from coming into Australia on the basis that it was associated with mainland Chinese ideology. That is unadulturated nationalism and it will almost certainly be interpreted as racist by the worlds up-and-coming superpower and probably in Australia as well. It clearly aligns with the goals of the mid-far right. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, I'm just pointing out we have a political ideology that wants this and it is a long way out of the mainstream. "We want to isolate ourselves from China" is a radically fringe position in Australia. We are not a nationalist nation, we are a nation of immigrants with a very fluid identity. It would also be strategic suicide to antagonise the regional superpower. We are not going to exclude China. If China wants to send students to Australia we are going to take them in and accept whatever money they have. That isn't an accusation, that is a frank assessment of what has been obvious in Australian politics for the last decade. I feel for Hong Kong, I truly do, but China has a long reach now; much like America. You can't run from American influence anywhere in the world [0]. There is no hope of escaping China while still basically being in Asia. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition#Investigations_by_national_governments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition#Invest...
        holografix 7y ago
        We are happy to take any students’ university fees and provide them with a market competitive educational curriculum. The reality of China’s population being 56,3 times that of Australia coupled with a non-democratic, expansionist government is great cause for concern. The amount of influence China already exerts in Australia is alarming, as is evidenced by the property bubble they helped fuel by laundering money outside of the eyes of the communist party. Or the propaganda machine that prints free English language newspapers for distribution in major Australian capitals. Business and government and intrinsically linked in China and Australia is well advised not to become China’s subservient lap dog.
        LilBytes 7y ago
        I don't agree, I'm far left leaning and consider Chinese money or rather, seeing a greater scrutiny of it's use in Australia to see partisan support. Similar to how Sam Dastyari [1] was forced out after he'd been shown to receive significant donations. I'm not across this piece as much as I would like so I may be missing some nuance there. I imagine China's influence in Australian State and Federal government to be a lot more pervasive than this. But it's more of a dirty secret than we're led to believe. [1] - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/12/sam-dastyari-quits-labor-senator-china-connections https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/12/sam-d...
- dis-sys 7y ago
  > That sort of sounds-sorta-racist/nationalist ideology won't fly in modern Australia. just grab another VB sit back and watch then?
- bcrosby95 7y ago
  > Besides which, that sounds like a One-nation policy. That sort of sounds-sorta-racist/nationalist ideology won't fly in modern Australia. Your first paragraph was fine. This is over the line. Bullshit like this is why people of opposing viewpoints can't discuss things - because assholes label them like this. "Oh, but i didn't call them racist!" Stop playing games. We aren't idiots. If you can't keep discourse harming comments like this to yourself, you shouldn't bother at all, because you make it impossible for actually reasonable people to discuss different viewpoints. Or you can just continue then wonder why politics are "so bad". Look in the mirror.

China is big the way oceans are big and unless there is a really ugly war they are going to be the preeminent power in the Asia-Pacific for this century. 'Reduce our dependency on Chinese money' is a nice idea, but that would be like trying to reduce our dependency on the United States. A very difficult tightrope to walk. Besides which, that sounds like a One-nation policy. That sort of sounds-sorta-racist/nationalist ideology won't fly in modern Australia.

hdfbdtbcdg 7y ago
Hang on are you accusing the OPs of racism because they are opposed to corruption?
- roenxi 7y ago
  No. But that policy suggestion aligns with One Nation and is probably either going to be called racist and/or nationalist.
  - LilBytes 7y ago
    This isn't Facebook. HackerNews isn't about to go around accusing people of being OneNation sympathises though I do understand the position you're taking here. Being critical of the influence of fee-paying students in University can quickly become hyperbolic.
    - roenxi 7y ago
      The original comment was talking about blocking Chinese money from coming into Australia on the basis that it was associated with mainland Chinese ideology. That is unadulturated nationalism and it will almost certainly be interpreted as racist by the worlds up-and-coming superpower and probably in Australia as well. It clearly aligns with the goals of the mid-far right. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, I'm just pointing out we have a political ideology that wants this and it is a long way out of the mainstream. "We want to isolate ourselves from China" is a radically fringe position in Australia. We are not a nationalist nation, we are a nation of immigrants with a very fluid identity. It would also be strategic suicide to antagonise the regional superpower. We are not going to exclude China. If China wants to send students to Australia we are going to take them in and accept whatever money they have. That isn't an accusation, that is a frank assessment of what has been obvious in Australian politics for the last decade. I feel for Hong Kong, I truly do, but China has a long reach now; much like America. You can't run from American influence anywhere in the world [0]. There is no hope of escaping China while still basically being in Asia. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition#Investigations_by_national_governments https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition#Invest...
      - holografix 7y ago
        We are happy to take any students’ university fees and provide them with a market competitive educational curriculum. The reality of China’s population being 56,3 times that of Australia coupled with a non-democratic, expansionist government is great cause for concern. The amount of influence China already exerts in Australia is alarming, as is evidenced by the property bubble they helped fuel by laundering money outside of the eyes of the communist party. Or the propaganda machine that prints free English language newspapers for distribution in major Australian capitals. Business and government and intrinsically linked in China and Australia is well advised not to become China’s subservient lap dog.
      - LilBytes 7y ago
        I don't agree, I'm far left leaning and consider Chinese money or rather, seeing a greater scrutiny of it's use in Australia to see partisan support. Similar to how Sam Dastyari [1] was forced out after he'd been shown to receive significant donations. I'm not across this piece as much as I would like so I may be missing some nuance there. I imagine China's influence in Australian State and Federal government to be a lot more pervasive than this. But it's more of a dirty secret than we're led to believe. [1] - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/12/sam-dastyari-quits-labor-senator-china-connections https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/dec/12/sam-d...
dis-sys 7y ago
> That sort of sounds-sorta-racist/nationalist ideology won't fly in modern Australia. just grab another VB sit back and watch then?
bcrosby95 7y ago
> Besides which, that sounds like a One-nation policy. That sort of sounds-sorta-racist/nationalist ideology won't fly in modern Australia. Your first paragraph was fine. This is over the line. Bullshit like this is why people of opposing viewpoints can't discuss things - because assholes label them like this. "Oh, but i didn't call them racist!" Stop playing games. We aren't idiots. If you can't keep discourse harming comments like this to yourself, you shouldn't bother at all, because you make it impossible for actually reasonable people to discuss different viewpoints. Or you can just continue then wonder why politics are "so bad". Look in the mirror.