DFAT’s timely advice on China

Upgraded travel advice for China from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with its stark warning that Australians could face “arbitrary detention”, is timely in view of Beijing’s increasingly belligerent conduct towards other nations. The warning is warranted given the communist regime’s brazen use of what former US national security adviser John Bolton terms “hostage diplomacy”. China is using blackmail in its efforts to spring Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei’s daughter, Meng Wanzhou, from detention in Canada in return for two Canadians detained on fictional charges in Beijing.

“Wolf warrior” spokesmen in Beijing’s Foreign Ministry doubtless will see DFAT’s warning as another excuse to vilify Australia, as they did with their concocted claim last month about a so-called racial threat to Chinese students in Australia. As the Canadian “hostage” situation and rapidly deteriorating relations between Beijing and London show, Australia is far from alone in its concerns about Beijing threatening the safety of foreigners on its shores.

As Mr Bolton said, the blatant blackmail being applied in an attempt to force Ms Meng’s release personifies “the escalating economic conflict between China and the world’s industrial democracies”. It is a test, he said, of “Western resolve that Beijing (must) honour the rule of law”.

Ms Meng, Huawei’s chief financial officer, was arrested in December 2018. She is awaiting extradition to the US to face fraud charges and accusations relating to the supply of US technology to Iran. Within weeks, Chinese authorities arbitrarily seized and imprisoned two Canadians in China, charging them last month with espionage. They indicated the pair could be released if Ms Meng was returned. Such behaviour is covered in DFAT’s reference to the detention of foreigners for allegedly “endangering national security”. At a time of strained relations, Australians heading to China should heed the warning. That includes those intending to visit or transit through Hong Kong now that Beijing’s draconian security law is in force.

The detention since January last year of Australian-Chinese writer Yang Hengjun shows the Chinese Communist Party’s ruthlessness. So does the arrest of Chinese law professor Xu Zhangrun, who completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne. He is a critic of President Xi Jinping.

Canada also has warned its citizens against non-essential travel to China, referring to “an extreme risk to your personal safety and security”. It has advised Canadians already in China to leave. And now Britain is the target of threats, including a trade boycott, after Boris Johnson indicated he has finally decided to heed Australian and US intelligence advice and remove Huawei from the UK’s 5G network. Mr Johnson said he did not want “potentially hostile state vendors” to “preside over critical domestic infrastructure”, prompting the Chinese ambassador and spokesmen in Beijing to threaten trade boycotts, similar to threats directed at Australia after Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into how the coronavirus started in Wuhan. Britain, too, should refuse to be cowed.

Democratic nations must be staunch and united in confronting Beijing’s aggression. DFAT has underlined the fact the communist state is behaving like a rogue regime, deliberately placing itself beyond the rules-based world order. Crucial decisions lie ahead of the Morrison government on fast-tracking the resettlement of Hong Kong people in Australia. It must remain resolute in not capitulating to Beijing’s threats.