Andrew Bolt: Chinese ambassador’s spin fails the freedom test

China’s ambassador may seem nice but his National Press Club speech exposes him as a shameless spokesman of the world’s most dangerous dictatorship.

China’s ambassador seems a nice man. He speaks with civility and is a fan of the novels of Jack London.

But, Xiao Qian is in fact a shameless spokesman of the world’s most dangerous dictatorship, as exposed at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

No surprise, when a flunky of a communist dictatorship tests his lines on journalists raised to be free.

It was riveting TV, and I hope the tape is shown in schools as a lesson on the power of free speech.

Xiao started by declaring the Communist Party of China “fits China, is good for China and has won the heartfelt support of 1.4 billion Chinese people”, and “whether “certain countries have chosen a good political system or not, it is for the people of that country to have the say.”

Xiao Qian, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, addresses the National Press Club. Picture: Gary Ramage

Actually, China’s dictatorship has never allowed an election to see if its citizens really do want communism.

Xiao also said China was right to react militarily at the visit to Taiwan of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Taiwan was just a province of China and no one should interfere in internal disputes.

As for Australia, relations were now bad, but China now wanted a “reset”.

But then came the journalists’ questions, and Xiao’s spin and evasions tumbled like skittles.

Question: Well, didn’t the 23 million people of democratic Taiwan get a say on whether they should live under Chinese communist rule?

Answer: No, “the future of Taiwan will be decided by 1.4 billion Chinese”.

Question: If China wanted a “reset” with Australia, why not free Australian journalist Cheng Lei, imprisoned now for two years?”

Australian journalist Cheng Lei was accused of transmitting national secrets overseas. Picture: AFP

Answer: Cheng was accused of transmitting national secrets overseas, but her “rights are well protected, don’t worry about that”.

In fact, Cheng was arrested after criticising China’s response to the Covid pandemic. She was cut off from contact with her children, and our ambassador was banned from her court hearings.

Question: If China was peaceful, why had it that day said it could invade Taiwan?

Answer: “I’d rather not use the word ‘invasion’” because Taiwan was actually just a “province of China”. (It’s not.) But, yes, China could use “all necessary means”.

Question: If China took over Taiwan, would the Taiwanese people undergo “reeducation”?

Answer: “I’d rather not use the word ‘reeducation’,” but, yes, “there might be a process for the people in Taiwan to have a correct understanding of China”.

No, but yes. Know what we face.