Wagga councillors reverse decision to cut ties with China over coronavirus
Wagga’s sister-city and friendship programs with China have been reinstated after a bid to cut all ties with the superpower because of the coronavirus pandemic won support and gained international media attention.
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Wagga councillors have voted almost unanimously to overturn a bid that won support to “repeal and server” all ties with China after the coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan.
At an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, councillors voted 6-1 in favour to rescind a motion by Councillor Paul Funnell that narrowly passed to cut ties with Chinese sister-city initiatives and friendship programs.
An apology will also be issued to the mayor of Kunming, one of Wagga’s sister city since 1988.
Crs Greg Conkey, Dan Hayes, Rod Kendall, Vanessa Keenan, Tim Koschel and Yvonne Braid voted in favour while Cr Paul Funnell against it.
Deputy Mayor Dallas Tout and Cr Kerry Pascoe declared conflicts of interest and left the room for the debate and vote.
Wagga also has two friendship relationships with Tieling city and Jiangsu province and it has a memorandum of understanding with the Kunming International Friendship Cities Education Cooperation Declaration.
Wuhan, the epicentre of COVID-19, is more than 1500km east and southwest of Kunming and Tieling, respectively.
'Small step' to healing wound
Mayor Conkey, who was absent during the meeting on April 14 due to illness, called for an extraordinary meeting and led the rescission motion.
Speaking at the meeting, Cr Conkey said he was “shocked and distraught and felt physically ill” when the motion was passed.
“This motion was an insult to the mayor and people of Kunming after the hospitality shown to me, the former mayors and the very many Wagga people who have visited Kunming over the years since we became sister cities,” Cr Conkey said.
He also said that the unintended message of the motion was that Wagga and its people no longer want to be connected with Kunming because they held its people responsible for the coronavirus outbreak.
“We no longer wish to socialise with the people of Kunming, we no longer wish to learn about this city and their unique and diverse culture, we no longer want to encourage exchange visits,” he said.
“In other words, after 32 years, we no longer want to extend the hand of friendship.”
“This motion has caused a great deal of damage and it would take, I believe, a considerable time to restore that goodwill and to heal the wounds.
“Tonight’s rescission motion is one small step along that path.”
‘Stick to our guns’
In his report presented to council on April 14, Cr Funnell said the arrangements meant the council had a relationship with the “totalitarian communist regime” of the Chinese government that “has caused such death, destruction and turmoil across the world”.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Cr Funnell reiterated his beliefs, saying the Kunming Municipal Government is the Chinese Communist Party.
“That is who we are in a relationship with, plain and simple,” he said.
“What we have witnessed since passing the motion last week has convinced me even further that the severance ought to remain in place.
“The Chinese Communist Party has shown it is determined to keep their channel of influence in our country proven by their request that people like me should be restrained.”
Cr Funnell said the Chinese government in January bypassed the proper channels to request medical equipment from Australia as to not “alert our federal government to the gravity of the (coronavirus) problem”.
“We know from correspondence that passed between our council mayor and Kunming that masks and PPE gear were requested. If a foreign government needs help with an emergency, they ought to contact Emergency Management Australia or DFAT,” he said.
In relation to accusations of racism following his motion, he said he has had “hundreds of Australians of Chinese background who see what I am standing for”.
“They know I respect them and they respect me. What they do not want is an Australia that is manipulated and controlled by the CCP. Many of them fled communism to live here.
“It’s relationships like this that gives the communist regime legitimacy and they know it. We will send a powerful message to the CCP if we stick to our guns and say: ‘sorry, no more of your soft invasion and stealthy control’.
“Australia is a free country. We want to keep it that way and we want the same for the Chinese citizens of China.”
For and against
Prior to voting, three residents spoke against Cr Conkey’s motion while one spoke for it.
Dr Lucy Zhao, who emigrated to Australia from Kunming, said she supported the ending of the sister-city relationship because the Kunming government is part of the CCP.
“This regime has no respect for life, no respect for human rights,” Dr Zhao said.
“(It) cannot represent the true voice and interest of Chinese people.
“My family’s experience is one example of how the people in Kunming and China have suffered under communist regime.”
Dr Zhao said her father suffered from discrimination because his family had a business ownership background.
“He was treated as an enemy of the people and almost jailed during the Cultural Revolution,” she said.
“The current coronavirus disaster is another example — how they are trying to suppress different voices and cover up the true news at the cost of people’s lives and safety in China and around the world.
“It’s against Australian values to ignore the suppression of Chinese people’s rights and freedom.”
Speaking for the rescission motion was Kevin Poynter, who argued that sister-city relationships are between peoples and not governments.
“It’s important we keep persevering with that contact. It is a person-to-person relationship even though it’s administered by the local government authorities,” Mr Poynter said.
“It’s important that you don’t abandon the people of Kunming.”
Mr Poynter also urged that it was the Chinese people who were the first in the world subjected to the virus instead of the virus being started in China or by the Chinese people.
Wagga also has sister-city and friendship arrangements with Germany, East Timor, Japan and Nepal.