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Oz is part of the 5 eyes. The West in general, but especially the 5 eyes (anglosphere) have been waging an economic and propaganda war on China since Obama "piv

by a0-prw 5y ago

Oz is part of the 5 eyes. The West in general, but especially the 5 eyes (anglosphere) have been waging an economic and propaganda war on China since Obama "pivoted east". Anti Chinese rhetoric in Oz media and from their politicians has been strident. It is quite possible that the 5 eyes are ramping up methods of internal control in expectation of a war with China.

shell0x 5y ago
Australia basically sold everything to China and gave the Darwin harbor away on a lease. The entire economy relies on selling real estate to rich foreign investors, international students, and mining. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-12/why-did-northern-territory-sell-darwin-port-to-china-what-risk/10755720 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-12/why-did-northern-terr... Australia thinks it can control China, but without the influx of Chinese money the place is finished IMO. When I landed at Sydney Airport in 2020, there were ads in Mandarin advertising EU passports for sale.
- tasogare 5y ago
  Capital plus immigration. I've been in WA a decade ago and I was surprised by the number of ethnic Chinese people everywhere. One day China will just have to push a button to turn the country into one of its province, without any need for war.
  - shell0x 5y ago
    You are not far off. China used Chinese students in Australia as a pawn in geopolitics to support the regime. The previous generation of ethnic Chinese is better integrated, but the new generation is very patriotic and loyal to the communist party. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/hundreds-gather-in-sydney-for-police-heavy-pro-china-rally/7794fa29-563a-4ca5-8e22-bbb35a814a7a https://www.sbs.com.au/news/hundreds-gather-in-sydney-for-po... The West always hoped China would turn into a democracy, but that turned out to be an illusion. As long as maximising profits regardless of the consequences is a priority, this will continue. It's often forgotten that China is and has always been playing the long game where in the West policies can change after the next election.
rajamaka 5y ago
As incompetent as Australia's current leadership is, I still have reservations that they would be naive enough to get involved in a war with their greatest trading partner.
- inglor_cz 5y ago
  If China gets into war with anyone sizable (in practice, the U.S.), the trade flow will stop anyway. US stayed out of WWI for three years, but American trade with Germany was toast once the British started blocking German ships and ports.
marcus_holmes 5y ago
Also don't forget the racism. Aussies in general can be pretty racist, and the Chinese cop it especially. Politicians being "tough" on the Chinese (and then quietly selling off major chunks of Australia to them) seems to be a winning move.
- partomniscient 5y ago
  The situation is ludicrous isn't it. One of the major agri-businesses sucking the life-system out of Australia (i.e. water out of the Murray-Darling river) is a chinese owned business at the top of the river system. It all depends on your perspective. Some people are more Australian than our politicians, yet they look Chinese. It's a massive melting pot of variations. My opinion now is that the Crown (not the casino) is extracting all the value it can from Australia and then run it into the ground, and the other powers that be are doing it too. If Australia ends up against China in conflict, a lot of people will be tearing themselves apart inside. At the other extreme, a lot of Han Chinese see every other non Han Chinese human as inferior (in varying shades of inferiority). There are a lot of Han Chinese. This is a scary situation. The racism runs in both directions.
  - marcus_holmes 5y ago
    > "The racism runs in both directions." Not only that (which is very true). But some of the more racist Aussies aren't "white Australia" Anglo-Saxons.
powerapple 5y ago
I was thinking the same the other day. FB recommended a news article from Australian media yesterday, basically the journalists translated some Chinese text into some negative words in English, and wrote a piece for it, unbelievable. The way I see it is that both China and US do not want to go to war, but they all know there is a possibility you cannot ignore, the media is preparing for it. If you can label your enemy as non-human or evil, you don't have to worry about backslash from your citizen when a war breakout. I strongly feel this is the reason for what is happening now. In a few years, there will be conflicts.

by a0-prw 5y ago

shell0x 5y ago

Australia basically sold everything to China and gave the Darwin harbor away on a lease. The entire economy relies on selling real estate to rich foreign investors, international students, and mining. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-12/why-did-northern-territory-sell-darwin-port-to-china-what-risk/10755720 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-12/why-did-northern-terr... Australia thinks it can control China, but without the influx of Chinese money the place is finished IMO. When I landed at Sydney Airport in 2020, there were ads in Mandarin advertising EU passports for sale.

tasogare 5y ago
Capital plus immigration. I've been in WA a decade ago and I was surprised by the number of ethnic Chinese people everywhere. One day China will just have to push a button to turn the country into one of its province, without any need for war.
- shell0x 5y ago
  You are not far off. China used Chinese students in Australia as a pawn in geopolitics to support the regime. The previous generation of ethnic Chinese is better integrated, but the new generation is very patriotic and loyal to the communist party. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/hundreds-gather-in-sydney-for-police-heavy-pro-china-rally/7794fa29-563a-4ca5-8e22-bbb35a814a7a https://www.sbs.com.au/news/hundreds-gather-in-sydney-for-po... The West always hoped China would turn into a democracy, but that turned out to be an illusion. As long as maximising profits regardless of the consequences is a priority, this will continue. It's often forgotten that China is and has always been playing the long game where in the West policies can change after the next election.

rajamaka 5y ago

As incompetent as Australia's current leadership is, I still have reservations that they would be naive enough to get involved in a war with their greatest trading partner.

inglor_cz 5y ago
If China gets into war with anyone sizable (in practice, the U.S.), the trade flow will stop anyway. US stayed out of WWI for three years, but American trade with Germany was toast once the British started blocking German ships and ports.

marcus_holmes 5y ago

Also don't forget the racism. Aussies in general can be pretty racist, and the Chinese cop it especially. Politicians being "tough" on the Chinese (and then quietly selling off major chunks of Australia to them) seems to be a winning move.

partomniscient 5y ago
The situation is ludicrous isn't it. One of the major agri-businesses sucking the life-system out of Australia (i.e. water out of the Murray-Darling river) is a chinese owned business at the top of the river system. It all depends on your perspective. Some people are more Australian than our politicians, yet they look Chinese. It's a massive melting pot of variations. My opinion now is that the Crown (not the casino) is extracting all the value it can from Australia and then run it into the ground, and the other powers that be are doing it too. If Australia ends up against China in conflict, a lot of people will be tearing themselves apart inside. At the other extreme, a lot of Han Chinese see every other non Han Chinese human as inferior (in varying shades of inferiority). There are a lot of Han Chinese. This is a scary situation. The racism runs in both directions.
- marcus_holmes 5y ago
  > "The racism runs in both directions." Not only that (which is very true). But some of the more racist Aussies aren't "white Australia" Anglo-Saxons.

powerapple 5y ago

I was thinking the same the other day. FB recommended a news article from Australian media yesterday, basically the journalists translated some Chinese text into some negative words in English, and wrote a piece for it, unbelievable. The way I see it is that both China and US do not want to go to war, but they all know there is a possibility you cannot ignore, the media is preparing for it. If you can label your enemy as non-human or evil, you don't have to worry about backslash from your citizen when a war breakout. I strongly feel this is the reason for what is happening now. In a few years, there will be conflicts.