Andrew Bolt: Personal insight into China’s regime a timely reminder
Having endured an over-reaction to seeking the truth as a foreign correspondent 22 years ago, nothing about China’s bullying tactics comes as a surprise, writes Andrew Bolt.
Andrew Bolt
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Sure, they only fired shots over my head, not in it. But nothing since about China’s bullying has surprised me.
You know that thing about first impressions? Mine were formed in 1998, when I was a foreign correspondent in Hong Kong.
I’d heard China had captured a tanker — the Petro Ranger — with an Australian captain on board, and had brought it into a port on Hainan island.
I flew over and hired a boat to go talk to the captain.
But the second time I tried that stunt I was spotted by soldiers. Warning shots were fired and I was arrested.
It seemed a hell of an over-reaction to simply talking to the skipper.
Later that night I was questioned by men who seemed senior, even if one wore a souvenir T-shirt from Pattaya, one of Thailand’s most notorious sin cities.
I was told to sign a self criticism that praised China, and released me into the care of an Australian diplomat.
Fine, no big deal. Nothing like the treatment China has given to democracy activists, the Falun Gong, Christians and a million Muslim Uyghurs who’ve been locked up.
But it was personal, and there was something curious.
The Petro Ranger had been hijacked by pirates en route to Vietnam until the Chinese navy butted in.
But rather than take the ship back to Singapore, China’s navy brought it to Hainan and unloaded half its cargo of fuel, which was then sold.
Only later did the owners get back their ship. The pirates were released, too. No accountability.
So now I hear of China firing warning shots over Australia’s head — bans on beef and crippling tariffs to kill our barley exports — just because we asked for an inquiry into how this coronavirus started in China.
How dare we foreigners ask questions. How dare we assume rules applied to China.
I’ve got nothing against the Chinese people. Indeed, I’ve met dissidents with more guts and principles than some Australian weasels now urging us to cave in to the dictatorship for the sake of a bit of cash.
But this regime? Its bullying, love of force, hypernationalism, lawlessness and contempt for the West — all this is a corrupting influence.
I saw it close up — just a bit of it — but it told me a lot about the whole.
Originally published as Andrew Bolt: Personal insight into China’s regime a timely reminder