clutchcargo wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:54 pm I wish I could find the link to a news article I read yesterday

Username Taken wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:29 pm

clutchcargo wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:54 pm I wish I could find the link to a news article I read yesterday

Check your browser History.

Herve Lemahieu, director of the power and diplomacy program at the Lowy Institute, said Mr Morrison should not have responded to the "smear" and "low blow" from a relatively junior Chinese official on Twitter.

He said Australia's response was "overly emotive and defensive" and played right into China's hands.

"We shouldn't deploy our top asset - head of government - to respond to a propaganda post from some junior level official in the Chinese Foreign Ministry. These guys seek attention and we have given it to them," Mr Lemahieu said.

"I would describe it as a smear and a sub-tweet, and I didn't think it merited a response from the Prime Minister. It's beneath the Prime Minister to have to react to that."

Mr Lemahieu said he believed the tweet was used as "bait to lure a response", and also to switch the debate from China's "blatant violation of the economic rules-based order" by imposing unfair tariffs on Australia.

"That [the tariffs] is the big story, and to me it looks like they are trying to switch the subjects and make Australia look like the villain. We shouldn't have fallen for it," he said.

"It is not a coincidence the Russians got involved as well. I wouldn't have been surprised if they coordinated their efforts in the last few days in terms of seizing on what they think is a soft target."

Michael Shoebridge, director of Australian Strategic Policy Institute's defence and national security program, said social media post "shows again why Chinese soft power is collapsing internationally".

"The Afghan war crimes inquiry and the Australian government moves to hold itself and Australian soldiers to account are in stark contrast to the Chinese government’s denials and cover-ups about its abuses in Xinjiang and its repression in Hong Kong," Mr Shoebridge said.

"The world knows about the alleged unlawful killings of 39 Afghans because of a forensic inquiry conducted by Australia authorities, with a 480-page report released publicly.

"In contrast, the world knows about the over one million Uighurs in detention camps in China because of the accounts of escapees, because of leaked Chinese government documents, and analysis of satellite imagery."

nerdlinger wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 5:29 pm

nemo wrote: ↑Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:04 pm They just passed a law allowing the government to block exports of anything they deem to be national security related.
Neodymium magnets will be a good card for them to play.
If China wins this, they will do it to everyone.

That would be very short sighted of them given that so-called “rare earths” aren’t actually at all rare. We get them from China because they dig them up for cheap, but there’s nowt stopping us digging them up anywhere else.