Piers Akerman: Why PM needs to buy Sam a feed of Chinese
THE Coalition can only hope Labor continues to offer a hiding place to serial Sino-collaborator Sam Dastyari.
Opinion
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THE Coalition can only hope Labor continues to offer a hiding place to serial Sino-collaborator Sam Dastyari.
The Dasher is the only distraction on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s otherwise bleak horizon.
Though he has lost all credibility within the party he has determinedly hollowed out, he can continue to prosecute the case against Dastyari knowing that he is, for once, on extremely safe ground.
Dastyari is an absolute disgrace and, while Opposition leader Bill Shorten is obliged to offer him sanctuary for factional reasons, the grasping young NSW senator will remain a stinking albatross around his and the ALP’s collective neck.
No apology can undo what Dastyari has done in his latest attempt to assist his Chinese backers.
Consider this: Dastyari, in informing his Chinese benefactor, the Chinese billionaire and political donor Huang Xiangmo, that the two men should leave their mobile telephones inside Huang’s mansion and converse outside where (hopefully) they could not be overheard was effectively letting his sponsor know that the Australian security services were targeting him for surveillance.
He was for all purposes letting a foreign political actor know that he was in the frame.
This is not a matter to be disposed of with a press release, a reduction in party responsibilities and a relatively insignificant pay cut.
China is the biggest bear in our region and Dastyari was not only forwarding his bills to an agent of the Chinese in the clear expectation they would be paid, but he was prepared to stand up and contradict official Labor policy and support the Chinese position publicly when he thought his remarks would not be recorded.
Indeed, he initially denied making the statement and continued to do so until a recording was discovered.
The recent Australian White Paper outlined modest concerns about China’s impact in our region and tried to nuance the clear threat to sovereignty with placatory words about our economic dependence on the behemoth.
But there was another paper released last month which didn’t receive the publicity it deserved and should be compulsory reading for all our politicians.
It was the report of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission to the US Congress.
Running to more than 640 pages, it is without doubt the most current comprehensive study of China and its growing global power.
After reading through its well-researched findings and its exhaustive recommendations I forwarded a copy to a former senior defence department official for comment and his response tallied with mine.
He said that it was “one of the best reports of its kind that I have read — and I’ve read a lot of them”.
As a matter of urgency, he recommended that every MP be given a copy and that it be printed as a parliamentary paper because it needed the widest distribution.
In reviewing it, he said: “It paints a picture of a country gearing up for war. It’s not just aiming to protect its own back yard. It’s developing capabilities to project power way, way beyond its own borders.
“Their concept of power is holistic: military, propaganda, economic, diplomatic etc. All the country’s resources seem to be focused on dominating most of the world and crushing America.”
Particularly disturbing were the chapters on Chinese espionage and its engagement with the Western media, including Hollywood.
The economic analysis was not surprising but the review of China’s development of advanced weapons and high technology including its achievements in areas such as computing, robotics and biotechnology are frightening.
Of special interest to Australian readers (and hopefully politicians) is the examination of China’s untrustworthy commercial practices.
My friend said the report makes clear that you’d have to be a big risk-taker to get involved with them.
In fact, he said, the report describes a deceitful, ruthless bully with a psychotic lust for power and a huge chip on its shoulder and which, curiously, is also childish in its attitudes. The only good thing is the fragility of the Chinese economy.
“With a bit of luck they’ll collapse before they can do too much damage,” he said.
The US report recommends prohibiting the acquisition of US assets by Chinese state-owned or state-controlled entities, including sovereign wealth funds and mandatory reviews of transactions involving the acquisition of controlling interests in US assets by Chinese entities not falling under the above class of acquiring entities.
It says there should be reviews of investments in US-based greenfield assets by Chinese-controlled entities to assess any potential harm to US security.
Any acquisition or investment that would confer “control” with regard to critical technologies or infrastructure would be prohibited and it recommends that the US Departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, and Defence prepare and regularly update a list of critical technologies or infrastructure that would not be eligible for acquisition or investment by any Chinese entities. It also says there should be a net economic benefit test to assess the impact of acquisitions by Chinese entities in the United States.
“I’m full of admiration for the authors of this report. Thanks America. Who else could do this?”
Not Australia, certainly, with so many politicians, current and former, from both sides of the House being co-opted and suborned by none too subtle Chinese sponsors acting for their government.
Dastyari’s presence in the Senate is a gross insult to the Australian people. If the ALP permits him to retain his place in parliament it would indicate how much influence Manchuria has on its leadership.