Chinese Communist Party – Evening Report

Geoffrey Miller’s Political Roundup: What to expect from Chris Hipkins’ trip to China

Bryce Edwards — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 23:11:24 +0000

Analysis by Geoffrey Miller

Timing is everything.

Chris Hipkins, Minister of Education, speaking at NZEI Te Riu Roa strike rally on the steps of the New Zealand Parliament, 15th August 2018. Then, Labour Party deputy leader Kelvin Davis looks on. Image; Wiki Commons.

After months of mixed signals, Chris Hipkins will head to China at the end of June.

The New Zealand Prime Minister’s long-awaited visit to Beijing will come shortly before he attends July’s NATO summit in Vilnius.

The careful timing of the PM’s China trip – billed as a trade mission – offers advantages to both the Chinese and New Zealand sides.

For Beijing, the tour will provide a valuable opportunity to influence the leader of a ‘Five Eyes’ country, just before Hipkins takes his seat at the NATO table in Lithuania.

NATO last year launched a new ‘Strategic Concept’ that called out China for its ‘stated ambitions and coercive policies’ and pinpointed the country as a source of ‘systemic challenges’ for the alliance.

For Wellington, the fact that Hipkins is choosing to visit China first – immediately prior to the NATO summit – will be a chance to balance up its recent foreign policy trajectory.

Since Hipkins took over as Prime Minister in January, New Zealand has generally sailed a more hawkish, pro-US course.

The latest instalment in that story came on Friday, when New Zealand signed up to a joint statement with Japan and the other four Five Eyes countries – Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States – this time condemning economic coercion.

Interestingly, the joint declaration did not explicitly name China.

The decision to omit an explicit reference to Beijing – which was the clear and obvious target – might have been a concession to the more sensitive countries in the grouping, especially New Zealand.

After all, the US now no longer shies away from openly criticising China. Traditional diplomatic niceties now frequently seem to be a thing of the past – as demonstrated by the sharp language used recently by Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary.

Whatever the motivations, the wording of the joint statement failed to stave off a typically swift and sharp reaction from the Chinese Embassy in Wellington.

Wang Xiaolong, the Ambassador, published a series of tweets which began: ‘Smearing other countries, either directly or indirectly, won’t whitewash one’s own dismal record on coercion’.

The embassy later issued a statement that said ‘certain countries tend to overstretch or abuse the concept of national security to impose protectionist policies’.

China is still New Zealand’s biggest trading partner by some margin – although the value of New Zealand’s exports to the country largely flatlined over the past year. The total now sits at $NZ21.6 billion.

In the year to March 2023, exports to China made up only 23 per cent of New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services, according to Statistics New Zealand.

During his time in China, Chris Hipkins will be seeking to rekindle and rebuild the trading relationship, especially after Covid-19. Reviving Chinese tourism to New Zealand will be one obvious major focus.

But he can also expect to hear more about China’s frustrations with both the joint declaration on economic coercion and other recent New Zealand foreign policy developments.

A meeting between Hipkins and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has yet to be officially confirmed, but – again – this seems to be only a question of timing.

Beijing’s concerns are likely to centre on New Zealand’s potential role in AUKUS, the elite-level military pact that currently involves Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Andrew Little, New Zealand’s defence minister, has said New Zealand is ‘willing to explore’ joining the next stage of AUKUS, which is focused on advanced technologies and is commonly referred to as ‘Pillar II’.

Little has also been at the forefront of other recent decisions that might have irritated China.

These include the recent signing of a new military agreement with Japan and a forthcoming upgrade of New Zealand’s defence ties with Fiji, as well as the boost in New Zealand’s military aid to Ukraine that was announced in early May.

Chris Hipkins and foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta appear to be less enthusiastic about New Zealand joining AUKUS.

After Mahuta visited Beijing herself in March, she said ‘we don’t want to see the militarisation of the Pacific, we’re not part of the AUKUS arrangements’, while Hipkins called the Pillar II issue ‘purely hypothetical’ when questioned in May.

It is difficult to work out the true extent of any divisions on foreign policy within Chris Hipkins’ Labour cabinet.

But recent speeches given a week apart by Little and Mahuta provide a useful case-study.

At the ‘Shangri-La Dialogue’ in Singapore on June 2, Little told fellow defence ministers that New Zealand viewed the global situation with ‘clear eyes’ and would ‘maintain the military capability necessary to contribute to the rules-based international order and protection of our free and democratic way of life’.

By contrast, Nanaia Mahuta’s speech to last week’s conference of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) in Auckland was more nuanced.

The foreign minister addressed the risks of a ‘more contested environment’, which she listed as ‘poverty levels, indebtedness, conflict, economic exclusion and human rights abuses’.

But Mahuta also told attendees that New Zealand did not cooperate ‘exclusively with those mirroring our views’ and argued ‘binary choices’ were unnecessary.

Perhaps most significantly, Mahuta argued there was no ‘new Cold War’ – a reference that would have been carefully chosen for its likelihood of a positive reception in Beijing.

China regularly warns countries – including New Zealand – against taking what it calls a ‘Cold War mentality’.

If avoiding superpower confrontation is the priority, Hipkins’ visit at the end of June may come at just the right time.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Beijing on June 18, in a much-awaited top-level trip. If it happens, Blinken’s mission will go against the grain of deteriorating US-China relations.

China’s defence minister Li Shangfu declined to meet with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, when the pair were in Singapore – a response to the US refusing to lift old sanctions on Li.

Not long after this diplomatic failure, the US released a video of an apparent near-collision of US and Chinese warships in the Taiwan Strait – which in turn came not long after claims of a similar incident involving aircraft.

Last but not least, US officials claimed at the weekend China had been spying on the US for years from Cuba. Unsurprisingly, China has rejected the allegations.

With New Zealand still being China’s best friend in the West, Hipkins has the potential to build on any progress made by Blinken in establishing proverbial ‘guardrails’ to prevent tensions between the superpowers from spiralling out of control.

Ultimately, the most likely role to be played by Chris Hipkins is that of messenger.

NATO leaders will be keen to hear what the New Zealand PM has to say about his China trip when he arrives in Europe in early July.

Chris Hipkins is going to China.

The timing is crucial.

And only time will tell just how successful his trip will be.

Geoffrey Miller is the Democracy Project’s geopolitical analyst and writes on current New Zealand foreign policy and related geopolitical issues. He has lived in Germany and the Middle East and is a learner of Arabic and Russian. Disclosure: Geoffrey attended the Global Media Congress in 2022 as a guest of the organisers, the Emirates News Agency.

PODCAST: A People’s Protest Rises Within the PRC and Iran – Buchanan and Manning

Selwyn Manning — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 01:33:57 +0000

In this, the 23rd episode of A View from Afar for 2022 political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and host Selwyn Manning analyse the significance of public protests that have challenged authoritarian rule in both the People’s Republic of China and in the Republic of Iran.

Paul takes us through the causes of the resistance, and how, in each nation, the reasons differ, but the impact is the same.

In 2022, authoritarian leadership is being challenged by the rise of street protest and resistance to centralised control.

INTERACTION WHILE LIVE: Paul and Selwyn welcome interaction while live with questions and comments. They recommend you can keep the debate going via EveningReport’s YouTube channel, as Facebook is undergoing significant changes. Here’s the link: Youtube (remember to subscribe to the channel).

You can also keep the conversation going on this debate by clicking on one of the social media channels below:

If you miss the LIVE Episode, you can see it as video-on-demand, and earlier episodes too, by checking out EveningReport.nz or, subscribe to the Evening Report podcast here.

RECOGNITION:

The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication.

Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

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PODCAST – Buchanan and Manning on The Era of Restive Politics – A View from Afar

Selwyn Manning — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 01:36:32 +0000

The Era of Restive Politics – In this, the 20th episode of A View from Afar for 2022 political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and host Selwyn Manning analyse The Era of Restive Politics.

In particular, Paul and Selwyn explore the political dynamics in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the People’s Republic of China, Italy, and Brazil.

And within this context, they examine the threads of social and political change that’s sweeping the world and what this means as we approach the end of 2022.

INTERACTION WHILE LIVE: Paul and Selwyn recommend you connect via EveningReport’s YouTube channel. Here’s the link: Youtube (remember to subscribe to the channel).

You can also keep the conversation going on this debate by clicking on one of the social media channels below:

If you miss the LIVE Episode, you can see it as video-on-demand, and earlier episodes too, by checking out EveningReport.nz or, subscribe to the Evening Report podcast here.

RECOGNITION:

The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication.

Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

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Live Podcast: Buchanan and Manning on The Era of Restive Politics – Midday Thurs

Selwyn Manning — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 09:05:39 +0000

LIVE@MIDDAY NZ Time – 6pm USEST – In this, the 20th episode of A View from Afar for 2022 political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and host Selwyn Manning will analyse The Era of Restive Politics.

In particular, Paul and Selwyn will explore the political dynamics in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the People’s Republic of China, Italy, and Brazil.

And within this context, they will examine the threads of social and political change that’s sweeping the world and what this means as we approach the end of 2022.

INTERACTION WHILE LIVE: Paul and Selwyn invite and encourage you to interact while they are live with questions and comments. They recommend you do so via EveningReport’s YouTube channel. Here’s the link: Youtube (remember to subscribe to the channel).

You can also keep the conversation going on this debate by clicking on one of the social media channels below:

If you miss the LIVE Episode, you can see it as video-on-demand, and earlier episodes too, by checking out EveningReport.nz or, subscribe to the Evening Report podcast here.

RECOGNITION:

The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication.

Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

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PODCAST: Buchanan + Manning: The Path Ahead For Taiwan China Asia Pacific Nations and the USA

Selwyn Manning — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 02:53:33 +0000

A View from Afar – In this podcast, political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning analyse hostilities and the pathway ahead for Taiwan, China, Asia Pacific nations and the United States of America.

Buchanan and Manning examine why hostilities have intensified, what defence and pre-emptive security moves have been actioned, and what we all should expect next, including the ramifications impacting on Asia Pacific nations’ foreign policies and what the short, medium and long term consequences will be.

The Questions:

What to expect from a deterioration of China / Taiwan relations?

What’s next in the PRC Taiwan stand-off?

What impact will PRC Taiwan hostilities have on the foreign policy positions of Asia Pacific nations?

And is the USA’s Indo-Pacific security/defence realignment a help or a hindrance in the region?

You can comment on this debate by clicking on one of these social media channels and interacting in the social media’s comment area. Here are the links:

If you miss the LIVE Episode, you can see it as video-on-demand, and earlier episodes too, by checking out EveningReport.nz or, subscribe to the Evening Report podcast here.

The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication.

Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

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Solomon Islands orders national broadcaster SIBC to ‘self-censor news’

Asia Pacific Report — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 20:17:58 +0000

By Annika Burgess of ABC Pacific Beat

The Solomon Islands government has ordered the country’s national broadcaster to self-censor its news and other paid programs and only allow content that portrays the nation’s government in a positive light.

Staff at Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) confirmed to the ABC that acting chairman of the board William Parairato met with them last Friday to outline the new requirements.

They include vetting news and talkback shows to ensure they did not “create disunity”.

Parairato had earlier attended a meeting with the Prime Minister’s office, the SIBC journalists said.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has become increasingly critical of the public broadcaster, accusing SIBC of publishing stories that have not been verified or balanced with government responses.

Last month, SIBC was removed as a state-owned enterprise (SOE) and became fully funded by the government, raising concerns over the broadcaster’s independence.

The government defended the reclassification, saying it had a duty to protect its citizens from “lies and misinformation”.

It is unclear whether SIBC — which plays a vital role as a government watchdog — will be able to publish any news or statements from the opposition under the new regime.

Critics are concerned the new rules resemble media policies adopted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and could essentially make SIBC a mouthpiece for the government.

[embedded content]
The ABC Four Corners investigative journalism report on China and the Solomon Islands this week.

Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) president Georgina Kekea said there were growing fears the government would be influenced by its “new partner”, referring to the security pact recently signed between Solomon Islands and China.

“It really doesn’t come as a surprise,” she told the ABC.

“This is one of the things which we are fearful of for the past month or so now.

“We’ve been vocal on this issue, especially when it comes to freedom of the press and media doing its expected role.”

Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare shaking hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping … local reporters say the government has become less inclined to answer media questions since the country signed a security pact with China. Image: Yao Dawei/Xinhua via Getty/ABC

What impact will it have?
Honiara-based Melanesian News Network editor Dorothy Wickham said it was unclear how the development would play out.

Dorothy Wickham says she is not surprised by the move, given the government’s ongoing criticism of the media.

“We haven’t seen this happen before,” she said.

Journalist Dorothy Wickham … she isn’t surprised by the SIBC move, given the government’s ongoing criticism of the media. Image: ABC Pacific Beat

“If the opposition gets on SIBC and starts criticising government policies, which every opposition does … would the government disallow SIBC to air that story or that interview? That is the question that we’re asking.”

Officials have denied taking full control of SIBC’s editorial policy, saying it just wants the broadcaster to be more responsible because it is a government entity.

But University of South Pacific journalism associate professor Shailendra Singh said the government’s intentions were clear.

“There seems to be no doubt that the government is determined to take control of the national broadcaster, editorially and financially,” he told ABC’s The World Today.

“I don’t think there’s any way the government can be stopped.

“This latest move by the government, what it has done with the SIBC, is bring it closer to media in a communist system than in a democracy.”

Press freedoms dwindling
Local media have been vocal about increased government secrecy, the closing of doors and controlled dissemination of information from the prime minister’s office.

Wickham said the media did not have issues with governments in the past, adding that since the security pact had been signed with China, the government had been making life harder for the press.

“I don’t think this government actually restricts us, I think it’s controlling their information more than they used to,” Wickham told ABC’s The World Today.

“The government has been concerned that the negativity expressed by a lot of Solomon Islanders is affecting how the government is trying to roll out its policies.”

When China’s foreign minister toured the country in May, Solomon Islands local media boycotted a press conference because they were collectively only allowed to ask one question — to their own Foreign Minister.

They also struggled to get information about the timing of the visit and agreements being signed between the two countries.

Last month, the ABC was also shunned after being promised an interview with Sogavare after his national independence day speech, in which he thanked China for being a “worthy partner” in the country’s development.

Instead, his minders escorted him to a nearby vehicle, with police blocking reporters from getting close to the Prime Minister.

Dr Singh warned that the country’s democracy would suffer as a result of less media freedom.

“Media is the last line of defence, so if the media are captured, who will sound the alarm? It’s happening right before our eyes. It’s a major, major concern,” he said.

Solomon Islands police blocking the ABC from speaking to Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Image: Adilah Dolaiano/ABC News

‘A wake-up call’
Kekea said SIBC staff should be able to do their job freely without fear and intimidation.

But the best thing the media can do is uphold the principles of journalism, stressing that “we must do our jobs properly”.

“It’s a wake-up call for SIBC to really look at how they have gone over the years, how they format their programs, the quality control they have in place,” Kekea said.

“It’s really a wake up call for every one of us.”

She said the media landscape had changed over the years and standards had been dropping, but the government also needed to respect the role of journalist and be more open to requests for information.

The Prime Minister had repeatedly said he was available for questions and calls, but local media complained they were continuously left unanswered, she said.

“They do not have the courtesy to respond to our emails. Even if we want to have an exclusive it gets rejected,” Kekea said.

“So it’s time governments should also walk the talk when it comes to responding to the media when they ask questions.”

The ABC has contacted Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister’s office and SIBC for comment.
YouTube Reporter Dorothy Wickham tells The World it’s still unclear what this means for the public broadcaster.

Annika Burgess is a reporter for ABC Pacific Beat. Republished with the permission of Pacific Beat.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

CPJ demands Facebook restore ‘censored’ press freedom awards video

Asia Pacific Report — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 13:17:53 +0000

The Committee to Protect Journalists press freedom 2021 video removed by Facebook, but still available on YouTube and Twitter. Video: CPJ (Hongkong crackdown at 32m:05s)

Pacific Media Watch newsdesk

The Committee to Protect Journalists has called on Facebook to restore a video honouring the winners of the International Press Freedom Awards (IPFA) at CPJ’s annual awards ceremony held on November 18 and streamed on social media during the event.

Less than an hour after the stream ended, Facebook notified CPJ that the video had been withheld worldwide because of a “copyright match” to a 13-second clip owned by i-Cable News, a Hong Kong-based Cantonese-language cable news channel, reports CPJ.

CPJ emailed i-Cable Communications Limited on November 24 requesting details but received no immediate reply.

The clip, featuring Jimmy Lai taking a bite from an apple, was taken from an advertisement for the now-shuttered Apple Daily dating from the 1990s when he founded the newspaper.

Currently imprisoned by Chinese authorities, Lai has become a powerful symbol of press freedom as the Chinese Communist Party seeks to gain control over Hong Kong’s media and was honoured during CPJ’s award ceremony for his work.

It is not clear if Facebook applied the action automatically, or whether i-Cable News complained in an attempt to suppress the video.

The news group, i-Cable, signed an agreement in 2018 with China Mobile Limited, a state-owned telecommunication company, allowing China Mobile to use its content for the next 20 years.

“It is beyond ironic that a platform which trumpets its commitment to freedom of speech should block a video celebrating journalists who risk their lives and liberty defending it,” CPJ deputy executive director Robert Mahoney said.

“Facebook must restore the video immediately and provide a clear and timely explanation of why it was censored in the first place.”

A lawyer at Donaldson and Callif, which vetted the IPFA video for Culture House, the production house that cut the video, told CPJ in an email that the firm was of the opinion that the clip of Lai “constitutes a fair use as used in this IPFA video”.

The full awards video — and its comments, views and share — remains unavailable to Facebook users worldwide. The IPFA video is still available on YouTube and Twitter.

CPJ contacted Facebook on November 19 and again on November 22 outlining CPJ’s concerns about the video’s removal but has yet to receive an explanation for the action by the company.

CPJ has documented examples of US copyright laws being used to censor journalism globally.

The press freedom organisation has held IPFA award ceremonies since 1991 as a way to honour at-risk journalists around the globe and highlight erosions of press freedom.

Republished from Committee to Protect Journalists.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

PODCAST: Buchanan + Manning on how Taiwan is caught between two clashing giants

Selwyn Manning — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 02:42:14 +0000

A View from Afar – LIVE @ MIDDAY Thursday October 14: In this podcast, Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning will analyse how Taiwan is delicately navigating its way between two clashing global powers. On one side there’s China and on the other is the USA.

Taiwan has been self-governing for over 70 years. It insists it wants to remain an independently governed economy.

But recently, the People’s Republic of China’s leader Xi Jinping stated China wishes to reunify Taiwan and assert control over the South East Asia nation.

And, on the other hand, the United States of America has restated its defence commitment to Taiwan. The Pentagon this week said the US’ commitment to Taiwan is rock solid, and, in recent weeks it has been reported that US military forces have been present on Taiwanese soil.

But how committed is the US really? Will the US come to Taiwan’s defence should China invade?

And, what would China gain strategically if it did invade, and, what would China lose if a regional conflict occurred?

Taiwan’s leader said this week that it will not submit to China’s will on the issue of its independence, but rather it will use diplomacy to find a way through – that is unless China did invade.

So what is the most likely outcome of this situation? How can China back off, save face, and get back to the business of economic mutual interest?

Join Paul and Selwyn for this LIVE recording of this podcast and remember any comments you make while live can be included in this programme.

You can comment on this debate by clicking on one of these social media channels and interacting in the social media’s comment area. Here are the links:

If you miss the LIVE Episode, you can see it as video-on-demand, and earlier episodes too, by checking out EveningReport.nz or, subscribe to the Evening Report podcast here.

The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication.

Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

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LIVE PODCAST: Buchanan + Manning on how Taiwan is caught between two clashing giants

Selwyn Manning — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 05:56:57 +0000

A View from Afar – In this podcast, Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning will analyse how Taiwan is delicately navigating its way between two clashing global powers. On one side there’s China and on the other is the USA.