One of the most fascinating things about the remarkable revelations in the current civil war inside National was how a former Communist Party leader now based in New Zealand attempted to buy two Chinese MPs to put on National’s Party list.
What makes this revelation fascinating has been the effort the mainstream media have gone to ignore it.
On social media, the surprise and startled shock by ordinary New Zealander’s at the ease with which China could make a play for this level of political influence has been met with an equally stunned reaction at how far the NZ news industry has avoided this naked attempt at subjugation of our sovereignty.
Aside from the odd token guest opinion piece and Bernard Hickey over at newsroom, the majority of the NZ media have not focused on this extraordinary attempt to infiltrate the largest political party in NZ in favour of MeToo framed anonymous allegations of bullying and harassment of women by JLR.
When the National Party has become little more than a front for Chinese Business interests with an alleged spy inside their caucus and Jenny Shipley, Don Brash, Ruth Richardson and Chris Tremain Director’s of the China Construction Bank, Judith Collins interaction with Chinese Officials to help her husbands Chinese Company, Oravida, to gain more Chinese money and Maurice Williamson’s love affair with Donghua Liu seeing him become Liu’s personal handyman when doing up Liu’s batch and heavying the Police to drop domestic violence charges it is more than fair to start demanding far more scrutiny and public debate towards China’s power over our economy and political system, especially when the academic who is highlighting this influence is being intimidated and having her house broken into by Chinese agents.
There is one main force at work that self censors any critique or investigation of Chinese influence in New Zealand Politics and that is whenever anyone attempts to critique Chinese influence in NZ, they are inevitably decried as racist and xenophobic. Most NZ Journalists are on twitter and many play to various woke echo chambers and few would dare risk the social media pile on wrath of the woke by printing any criticism of China that could be interpreted as racist or xenophobic.
Many woke millennials have globally transferrable social media skills so see any restriction on migrants as an existential threat to their own economic freedoms and valuation. This creates a social media landscape where China’s influence can be debated about as rationally as trans-activists at a TERF debate on binary gender roles.
It’s not just the media who turn a blind eye, few politicians have had anything to say either. The reason why the Greens are next to useless on this issue is because their supporters are the most policing of micro-aggressions and they would start a Woke Jihad against any debate they saw as even remotely critical of ethnic minorities.
While the Greens are as relevant as reading poems to an electric vegan bike because their activists are holding them hostage, Labour has shut down all their MPs from saying anything either.
For Jacinda’s Politics of Kindness, you don’t kick an enemy while they are down, which is the public reason as to why they aren’t involving themselves in the Bridges-JLR shit fight, the private reason they aren’t saying anything however is because Labour are just as susceptible to allegations of Chinese influence…
China’s communists fund Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party: What the United States Congress was told
An influential United States Congress hearing has been told “one of the major fundraisers for Jacinda Ardern’s party” is linked to the Chinese Communist Party and it showed China had penetrated New Zealand’s political networks.As a result, US lawmakers needed to consider whether New Zealand should be kicked out of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance because of problems at its “political core”.
The bombshell testimony included claims from a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst that “anything on China that was briefed to Bill English was briefed to Mr Yang Jian”, the National MP revealed last year as having trained spies for China.
The hearing of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission was aimed at gathering evidence on China’s relationship with traditional US allies.
…with self-censorship media refusing to engage the issue for fear of being labelled racist by the woke combining with a political establishment that are also taking money from China, the issue of Chinese influence over us is one few media or politicians have the courage to attempt.
But attempt it we must. We don’t want to be controlled by Beijing anymore than we want to be controlled by Washington, and let’s be very clear, any critique of China must be conducted alongside a critique of American influence over us as well.
With the 5 Eyes mass surveillance legislation, the NSA have access to all our communications and has far too much power over every segment of our economy, culture, politics and society.
New Zealand for New Zealanders. We don’t want to be influenced by China or America, we want our decision making process to be in Wellington but to begin championing that vision, we are going to have to challenge the woke self-censorship of debating Chinese influence over Aotearoa.
Sign the petition for an inquiry into Chinese power over NZ here.
China is a rising global power now challenging the declining US. This puts the weak, tiny NZ ruling class into a quandary when pressured to back one or the other in various predatory deals.
But it poses much bigger problems for workers. Not only are we being forced to pay for such deals in declining living standards and carrying the existential costs of climate change, we are also expected to pay the costs of fighting any wars that break out between these rival imperialist powers.
We can solve this problem as the working class majority by repudiating subservience to both imperialist powers and to their paid agents in the NZ ruling class.
But this means recognising that the class struggle has only one winner.
For NZ workers to be free we need to combine our interests with Chinese and US workers and unite against the imperialist elites and their neocolonial lackeys in the fight for workers power in the whole Pacific.
We cannot succeed in any workers revolution in NZ since it is subordinated politically and economically to both US and China.
But we can break free in solidarity with workers in both China and the US who succeed in making socialist revolutions in the two biggest imperialist powers in the world.
Most people are confused about China. Some see it as a human rights basket case to be shunned, others as a sort of socialist answer to US warmongering, so here is an article which puts China today into its historical context.
https://redrave.blogspot.com/2016/03/china-and-socialist-future.html
New Zealand has tossed its Key – to China.
Your Article is important Martyn. Mr Bridges wining and dining with wealthy Chinese; the provision of fine Housing advertised and provided by Barfoot and Thompson – via Money sources not revealed – has resulted in our most wealthy sectors being populated by wealthy Chinese.
All, apparently sanctioned by Communist China Sovereignty.
Not just the slimely Bridges at fault, but the slimey John Key and Billy English. Both of whom one way or another with Caucus have handed out a seat in Parliament to a full scale Chinese Military Spy.
This was yet another deliberate National piece of silent treason on the part of Key and his slut deputy English and the shoddy caucus.
Everything that goes on within New Zealand is sent across to Mao China by courtesy of Key and English and Bridges to their Commy Friends in Beijing.
Key has even given a bigger Casino in Auckland for the wealthy thousands of Chinese to play in.
While millions of New Zealanders are struggling even to afford a pair of chopsticks.
Well done – you evil Nationals. Well done.
New Zealand along with Australia are focusing it’s foreign policy on the Pacific and trade and security like this takes along time to mature. We have America and China both competing for aid and development contracts and we have to decide do we want security with one or more great powers or from the great powers.
The Chinese Development Bank and The BRICS have been trying to include New Zealand and Australia in its founding so that they have the broadest multilateral consensus. They’ve got 3 times the money to do development aid than The World Bank and I for one am not scared about Chinese money so it isn’t a difficult choice for me. They want to develop Asia, India, South Africa and the Pacific and I don’t care who does it so long as we focus on policy and get things done properly for the long term rather than National Party Con-artist ideology.
The Chinese DevelopmentBank is a non strategic body interested in the development of the pacific and any one interfering in its development should be viewed as a threat and dealt with the appropriate provisions of the law. Basically any one that is anti-poverty should be surprised that they have not been brought up in the broad economic, security and trade meetings of a full cabinet meeting.
I clicked on the link to read this petition and found that by clicking on it, I had automatically signed it. That’s ok, but I do like reading things before putting my name to them.It could also have been someone else on my laptop.
Why the MSM are shying from addressing the Chinese connections in NZ’s domestic politics may be who pays the piper. The MSM’s love affair with Key and the Nats was not necessarily always objective journalism, so Labour and NZ First did extremely well in beating them.
… [ we are going to have to challenge the woke self-censorship of debating Chinese influence over Aotearoa. ] …
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You’ve posted many good blogs over the years, Mr Bradbury and this is one of the best. I included the quote above because at the same time that we question the motives of the ‘woke left’ , – we are also well aware of the political influence of China in this country.
The grimly amusing thing is that we know it , the woke left know it , and the politicians themselves know it.
And yet nobody is talking.
This is what I posted on The Standard. No one replied bar one. The silence was deafening and I find that the woke left attitude is alive and well on that forum as well. It was interesting that one prominent far right winger who posts here on TDB and The Standard went into bat for the soft power take over by China. So now we are slowly starting to see the pecuniary ( because that is the driving force ) gain that gags any debate about the role China is having on our sovereignty …
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… [ Refreshing to see someone accurately outlay the broad picture on geopolitics rather than pontificate and beat around the bush on side issues. The saga is two sided. On the one hand it involves the squabbles between two members of an defeated opposition party , which then leads on to an expose of casual racist attitudes, contempt for democracy via buying ones way in to positions of influence, party division , and that party’s MO…
But it also exposes the extent to which a foreign power has made inroads into our democratic process. New Zealanders seem to have a real problem with coming out in no uncertain terms and admitting that we’ve allowed this to go unchecked,… yet we are more than happy to read and comment about China’s soft power influence in a significant number of country’s in Africa for example.
And in that continent, China has developed infrastructure and trade among those country’s. And political influence. With the latter being the real motive.
We read about the trade war with the USA, we read about China building islands in the South China sea, and Americas antagonism towards those military installations, – and we seem to have a mental block in remembering that we are part of the 5 eyes agreement.
And as such we are the weakest link in that chain.
Yet one that carry’s out on the behalf of the US surveillance of the Pacific and China itself. China knows that we are no military threat, – but the 5 eyes are. There is no need to threaten us with arms,- far simpler , effective and cheaper to buy into our political system. And the price paid is considered literally peanuts compared to the gains achieved. Obviously , to have ‘buy – ins’ to both major party’s is a bonus.
Sweeteners to individuals in political party’s via lucrative trade deals are easily arranged , and a small price to pay for gaining political influence. Particularly if influence in local legislation means it contains exceptionalism towards China and their interests.
China , despite being an emergent capitalist nation is also a totalitarian one with one of the worst human rights abuse records globally. Executions for what we would consider in no way deserving of such treatment are common . They are well known to practice soft power… and also for having members of the communist party monitor other Chinese nationals in foreign nations. It would be no stretch of the imagination to say that of all these Chinese students we have in NZ, that there are many communist party loyalists whose job it is to monitor them… with the leverage being that they have family’s at home in the mainland…
The whole altruistic drive from the business elite , – and the vast media campaigns they embarked upon to embed the message and influence public opinion in this country started with the notion of being’ tolerant’ , embracing ‘diversity’ , – implying at once that we were a small , insular and xenophobic nation intolerant of all those from different cultural backgrounds… and those who disagreed were labelled as ‘racists’ and ‘xenophobes’…
Yet in light of seeing just who all this peace , love , natural foods and goodwill to all mankind actually benefited ,… this latest between Bridges and Jamie Lee Ross has blown all those noble aspirations wide apart.
And what it has revealed instead is an insidious long term operation to influence our political landscape by a foreign power using the bait of petty financial rewards and avarice to buy off weak willed elected officials in this country , – and thus betray the voting public.
We have slipped a long way from when we faced down America over their warships coming into our ports and their ‘neither confirm nor deny ‘ policy.
Then we were bold.
Whats changed ? ] …
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Far more needs to be done to force honesty about this issue into the limelight , to refute those who would fall back on the lazy crutch of accusing people of ‘ Racism ‘, ‘xenophobes ‘ when they encounter opposition. These people are evil and they are duplicitous.
They are not the arbiters of morals or values, – nor champions of human rights ( as China has one of the worst human rights records globally ) , – they are the Trojan horse virus of the Chinese Communist Party being baited by avarice and greed and more than willing to to sell out this country’s sovereignty for what amounts to literally peanuts for their own personal gain.
They are evil people.
People like this used to be hung for such crimes in the not-so – distant times past .
It was called TREASON.
+100 WILD KATIPO
An interesting article below that shows how Vancouver’s situation almost mirrors NZ’s, especially Auckland’s. Those “astronaut” families mentioned sure sound familiar.
The main difference is they’re trying to do something about it in Vancouver, which I don’t see happening here.
Something else in common with the NZ/Auckland situation is that it was the votes of mainland Chinese immigrants, nominally living in Vancouver, that helped to keep Stephen Harper’s Canadian Conservative Party in government for so long – much akin to the ‘Blue Dragon’ movement keeping the Nat’s afloat in New Zealand:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-20/vancouver-is-drowning-in-chinese-money
National Party MP Price List
Chinese $100k
Indian $200k
USA – No FTA and we’ll bend over.
There’s some pretty disturbing long term implications here
Speaking to the headline;
“Why the Media and Politicians are so silent on Chinese influence in NZ and
what you need to do”
“The government needs to do its own research… into the extent of China’s political interference activities into our country. They need to research it and they need to tell the public the changes that they recommend”.
“There’s a real opportunity now to pull together and look at things like electoral financing and conflicts of interest of our MPs, stand down periods of MPs and also whether it’s okay to be a member of a foreign political party and a New Zealand political party.”
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/369008/academic-warns-against-interference-after-national-revelations
From ABC;
“One of the most senior national security figures in Australia says there is now a “like mindedness and shared understanding” among Five Eyes allies of how China’s pervasive and subversive influence has penetrated into each nation.”
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/341616/australian-universities-warned-of-foreign-interference-threat
Cheers.
More links:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/10/19/soooooooo-about-china-trying-to-you-know-buy-2-mps/
Many Wellingtonians aren’t aware that the city’s local electricity network is owned by a Hong Kong-based Chinese multinational corporation chaired by one of the richest and most powerful men in Asia – Li Ka-shing. According to Forbes magazine, he is the ninth richest man on Earth, and has an estimated wealth of $31 billion.
Stuff earlier this year said Mr Li was the richest man in Hong Kong and 23rd richest man on earth. Whatever. He’s comfortably off. Helped by pensioners using their heaters for 15 mins a day to warm up in the mornings, and families packed into one room to keep warm.
Maintenance ? That’s another story.
Who knows who owns what any more ?
That is just the tip of the iceberg. People would be horrified to know the real truth and extent of chinese ownership in NZ infrastructure and assets. So much of this country was sold out from under us by the previous PM and National government.
Want more?
Jenny Shipley (the disgraced Mainzeal director) is a director of the NZ Bank of China.
Bill English’s brother is involved in a logistics to China business.
Judith Colllins’ husband is a director of Oravida.
I could go on, but you get the picture.
Chinese need to be investigated now as the long arm of the communist Chinese government are deeply involved with the National party now.
You are exactly right. There needs to be an investigation to all of what JLR has put his career on the line for. National Party has to be investigated before they can continue.
Maybe a petition needs to put to parliament for this to happen?
Read the book ‘In the jaws of the dragon – how China is taking over NZ’ by Ron Asher, or start by having a listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4BLCu9xvRA
Whilst I don’t agree with everything in his book, he paints a picture with stark reality of how we’ve been sold out to the Chinese Government.
All Americans are being tied into Chinese credit rating system by 2020. Not long before we hear whispers of it happening here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyr3WuH9WUY&feature=em-uploademail
Penny Bright was spot on when she talked about openness and transparency and corruption issues
Yeah right on man! Chinese soft power til it comes time to pay the piper, as Wynston Peters put it talking snout the same in the Pacific… I wish the US would kick us out of five eyes, that would stick it to the Nats and expose what they have done and are doing selling influence to the Chinese to line their own pockets the Machiavellian bastards.
I wanna cheap t-shirts and flat screen tv.
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