Tony Abbott rips into China at the Yushan Forum in Taiwan

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has ripped into China and its leader Xi Jinping, denouncing its “cult of the new red emperor”.

“For once in my life I agree with Tony Abbott.”

That is the sentiment from many following former prime minister’s speech in Taiwan today.

Mr Abbott was speaking at the Yushan Forum in Taipei amid growing tensions with China. He was the first former Australian Prime Minister to visit a sitting Taiwanese leader.

His speech, which referred to China as “a cult of the new red emperor”, will not go down well with the Communist state.

“Two years back I hesitated to attend this conference, lest that provoke China,” Mr Abbott began.

Golly. Tony Abbott speech in Taiwan. Extraordinary. A direct reference to Xi, saying China has "cancelled popular personalities in favour of a cult of the new red emperor." Accuses Beijing of wanting to make Australia a "tributary state" pic.twitter.com/91rtgU0CgY

— Stephen Dziedzic (@stephendziedzic) October 8, 2021

“But since then, Beijing has torn-up the ‘one country, two systems’ treaty on Hong Kong; put upwards of a million Uighurs into concentration camps; boosted cyber spying on its own citizens; cancelled popular personalities in favour of a cult of the new red emperor; brutalised Indian soldiers in the Himalayas; coerced other claimants in its eastern seas; and flown evermore intimidatory sorties against Taiwan.”

He continued with discussion of the sanctions Beijing introduced against Australia after Prime Minister Scott Morrison asked for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus.

“(China has) weaponised trade, especially against Australia, with our barley, wine and coal exports all stopped on spurious safety grounds, and its embassy has published 14 demands – essentially that we become a tributary state – that no self-respecting country could accept.

“The trigger was politely seeking an impartial inquiry into the origins of the Wuhan virus.

So this year, I’m here, having concluded that China’s belligerence is all self-generated.

"China's belligerence is all self generated" - part of former PM @HonTonyAbbott's speech in Taiwan. @10NewsFirstpic.twitter.com/mpqEUeeez5

— Chloe Bouras (@ChloeBouras) October 8, 2021

“But things weren’t always this bad; and even now, need not go from bad to worse.”

He said China had important lessons to learn if only they were willing to listen.

“For Beijing, surely there’s a lesson here: the more freedom its people have, the better they’ve done; and the more respect China has gained.

“Be a friend, that experience shows, and you’ll have friends; be a bully, and you’ll only have clients, who can’t wait to escape.”

He reflected on how much had changed in the past six years despite Australia’s “goodwill towards the people of China” remaining unchanged.

“Australia has no issue with China. We welcome trade, investment and visits, just not further hectoring about being the chewing gum on China’s boot,” Mr Abbott said.

“A fortnight back, Professor Victor Gao, a senior Beijing analyst and former translator for Deng Xiaoping, directly threatened Australians: ‘Do you want to be a target for a possible nuclear war?’ he said, in response to our decision to acquire nuclear powered (but not armed) submarines.

“So if the ‘drums of war’ can be heard in our region, as an official of ours has noted, it’s not Australia that’s beating them.

“The only drums we beat are for justice and freedom – freedom for all people, in China and in Taiwan, to make their own decisions about their lives and their futures.”

The comments come as Pentagon officials confirm they have quietly been training Taiwanese troops for months as the threat of war between the two simmers.

A contingent of around 20 special operations and conventional forces has been conducting the training for less than a year, said an official, who declined to be identified.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry declined to comment on the matter, but Pentagon spokesman John Supple said that generally speaking, US support for Taiwan’s military is gauged on its defense needs.

— with AFP