Professor Clive Hamilton, banned from China, says it sends a ‘chilling message’ to western society

One of the Australian researchers unexpectedly banned from China says it is a move that should alarm western society.

One of the two Australian scholars banned from entering China said the move sends a “chilling message” to western society.

Professor Clive Hamilton, a professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, and Alex Joske from Australian Strategic Policy Institute, both found out about their ban from the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece The Global Times on Thursday.

Neither academic had an active visa, nor had any intention of travelling to China in the foreseeable future.

Professor Clive Hamilton said the CCP’s move to ban him was a “retaliation”.

ASPI researcher Alex Joske said he was proud of his work done on studying China. Picture Gary Ramage

Prof Hamilton said the move by China was clearly a “retaliation” to the expulsion of Chinese academics Chen Hong and Li Jianjun from Australia.

The Global Times did not detail a reason for the bans and although it caught Prof Hamilton by surprise, he said he had been on China’s “hit list for some years.”

“Chinese Government spokespeople and official Communist Party media have been denouncing me in harsh terms since my book Silent Invasion came out in early 2018,” Prof Hamilton said.

“I’m definitely on their hit list, but this ban was completely unexpected. I had no plans to travel.”

It comes as ABC journalist Bill Birtles – who served as the broadcaster’s China correspondent for years before he was evacuated from the country earlier this month – said the country had come out of COVID-19 “absolutely laughing”.

Prof Hamilton has previously come under cyber attack and received “hostile emails” over his academic work, leading him to decide “it would not be wise to travel to China.”

“This is just how they (the CCP) operate,” he said.

“The only reasonable explanation is that this is retaliation for the Australian Government’s expulsion of two Chinese scholars.

“ … This sends a chilling message to other western scholars studying China.”

Prof Hamilton said he had no intention to change his plans to continue studying China despite the ban.

“Do I regret my role in exposing an increasingly hostile dictatorship regime? No,” he said.

While Mr Joske is not speaking to the media on his ban, he took to Twitter to confirm he would not back down from his work in studying China.

“Chinese state media reports that I have been banned from entering China are the latest in a series of attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to punish those who shine a light on its activities,” he said.

“I am proud of my research on the CCP’s efforts to interfere in politics and transfer technology from around the world.

Statement on @globaltimesnews report that I have been banned from entering China. I won't be doing interviews on this. pic.twitter.com/u1UTEgBqq7

— Alex Joske (@alexjoske) September 24, 2020

“The accuracy of my research on these topics has never been seriously challenged by the Chinese government. I will continue to study these globally important issues.

“While I grew up in China and would love to return in better times, I decided years ago that the Chinese government’s actions have made the personal risk from travelling to China too high.”