If the politicians won’t discuss China & the media avoid it – let’s sign a petition to remove a Chinese Spy from the National Party

ByMartyn Bradbury

It sometimes feels like NZ media have spent more time covering Married At First Sight than National having a Chinese spy in their Caucus – I suggest a Bachelor season where Simon Bridges has to chose between 30 Chinese Businessman he’ll marry to get more attention on this.

The Right refuse to focus on Chinese influence in our politics because Farmers benefit from the milk powder sales, property speculators love the inflated property price demand China provides and bankers have a field day financing the exploitation. Additionally for the right, Chinese NZers vote National by almost 75%.

So China funds Farmers, keeps property speculators and banks happy and give 75% of their vote to National.

I simply don’t trust the National Party when it comes to handling our economic interests with China because the National Party itself is now wedded and compromised personally to wealthy Chinese interests.

At this stage, National is less a political party and more a front for Chinese business interests.

The Left, now over run by woke Identity Politics activists, won’t dare raise the issue of Chinese influence in our political system because to do so is considered xenophobic and racist.

So we have the Right benefitting politically and financially from China and a Left too gutless to say anything lest it be construed as racist covered by a media whom seem far more interested in the business relationships with China than any desire to hold them to account.

The NZ Herald for example has been manipulated into promoting Chinese propaganda in the form of their ‘Chinese Herald’ venture.

‪Alienating woke micro-aggression policing Identity Politics activists to the left of me, climate denying crypto-fascist alt-right incel Trolls to the right of me, and here I am stuck in the middle with you dear reader.

This is the Financial Times last week, I like the shock with which they write about NZ’s jaw dropping infiltration by China…

China is taking its ideological fight abroad

In next-door New Zealand, some of the biggest donors to the main political parties are China-based businessmen with close ties to the Communist party. Campaign finance legislation rushed through parliament last month has done little to close off the loopholes that allow this kind of influence-buying.

Astonishingly, a man who spent at least 15 years working for China’s military intelligence apparatus remains an elected member of parliament, even after admitting he was ordered by the party to conceal his past on his New Zealand immigration application.

Tiny New Zealand may seem like a strange target for Communist party infiltration, but the country is attractive to Beijing as the soft underbelly of the “five eyes” intelligence sharing arrangement with Australia, Canada, the UK and, most importantly, the US. A senior intelligence official from one of these countries described New Zealand to the FT as “on the edge of viability as a member” of the grouping, because of its “supine” attitude to China and its “compromised political system”. China is New Zealand’s biggest export destination. Presumably out of fear Beijing would respond with economic sanctions, Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, has gone out of her way to avoid even mentioning the topic of Chinese political interference.

…isn’t it time to bypass Jacinda’s fear of angering China and stick it directly to the National Party?

There isn’t one person I speak to privately who thinks China’s ongoing encroachment into NZ is a good thing, maybe the common person in the street needs to show by virtue of overwhelming numbers how unacceptable it is for a spy from a foreign nation to be allowed  inside our political system.

I’ve never started a petition for anything before, here is the first one I’ve created here.

Sign to have Jian Yang removed from the National Party and send a message that even if the politicians are too frightened to stand up to China and the media too timid to cover it, the ordinary citizen on the street can roar over the both of them.

There is no place for a country with the appalling human rights record and mass surveillance fetish of China in our politics.

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44 Comments

  1. Astonishingly, a man who spent at least 15 years working for China’s military intelligence apparatus remains an elected member of parliament, even after admitting he was ordered by the party to conceal his past on his New Zealand immigration application. [The Financial Times, no less]

    How insanely STUPID!! are we to tolerate this???

    If we go saying, “Rape me, rape me, exploit me, please, pleeeeease….” which we seem to be doing in effect, we can never ever say, “Look what they have done to us!” at some future time, if we were ever to wake up as a nation.

  3. Yes indeed. But we should be looking at that other Chinese MP in Labour, can’t think of his name. A big donor also.

  4. The NZ National Party will forever court China because of the huge donations that the wealthy in China give to the NZ National Party. Nothing will ever change there. No National Party politician or wannabe National politician will ever demand that National drops its links with the Chinese Communist Party like a hot potato.

    I believe in China there are over 4.4million millionaires and naturally a political party like National would court a number of those millionaires even if some of the wealth by some of the millionaires has been obtained by less than honest methods.

    All in all National are morally bankrupt. They don’t mind who they sleep with as long as they get what they want for themselves and their supporters.

    Whilst Simon Bridges intends to come down hard on local gangs he will turn a blind eye to those overseas gangs perhaps because some of the millionaires he mingles with also have links to the gangs. Bridges and co will not mind how the money made by the Chinese millionaires has been obtained originally and of course will not say anything to upset the apple-cart.

    For National it will naturally be “I scratch your back(China)and you(China)scratch mine(the NZ National Party and its donators)”.

  5. Have a dig around ex labour MP and Chch mayor Dalziels list of Chinese donors, her husbands ties to water bottling and the water crisis in Chch while they look to export billions of liters essentially free.
    It’s not just the righties selling out NZ.
    What does corruption look like?

    2. You re not suggesting that Dalziel is a lefty are you. She is most definitely not on the left of the spectrum, she was briefly as a union official but hasn’t been for years. She couldn’t care less where her money for her campaign comes from so long as she gets back in.

  6. My hope is that we could have a series of discussions on different aspects of the topic, including the nature of present involvement (or entanglement), of various areas of exploitation (eg taking our water, draining our aquifers, – in a time of impending drought, even!!!), of their taking ownership of large areas of our land, sometimes with specific agreements that we will NOT interfere with whatever they do on those vast land blocs!!

    Also, the effects of their presence in other countries, including parts of Aus and some areas of the Pacific.
    – On the Belt and Road Initiative.
    – On their effects on the local populations, where they have ventured.
    – On the cost of trying to speak out freely on anything that would be remotely questioning of government policy, under their rulership. etc etc etc

    If we (TDB) were to keep it up, eventually the mainstream media could no longer ignore it. And they would begin to understand the concern. The dangers we face. What we have to lose.

    1. Agree with your sentiments Kheala, but the media is already all over it, at least the media in other countries. The problem is nothing will change as long as people benefit economically.

      China has pretty much held up the Australian economy over the past 15 years, and also New Zealand’s since the FTA. No government is going to put that relationship at risk, because that in turn risks massive job losses. While people are uneasy about the China relationship, they are also scared of the hit to the economy we would take if were to offend our Chinese ‘overlords’. That’s the reality of things.

      China’s explicit aim is to overtake the West and to avenge their so-called ‘100 years of humiliation’ when they were raped by the West economically and militarily. Now they think the boot is on their foot.

      1. scared of the hit to the economy we would take if were to offend our Chinese ‘overlords’.

        Well that’s only going to intensify. If we allow ourselves to be ruled by fear, then what value… anything? The sooner we begin to tackle this, the better!

        We need to set, or to re-set the basis of our relationship with them. …from one based on ‘giving them what they want in return for finance’ in effect, to one based first and foremost on mutual respect. (of our values!) If we set/ re-set the boundaries now, then we are laying the foundations for a better future – a healthier future with them.

      2. Just because we trade with them (China) does not mean we cannot challenge or question them on issues we may not agree with, its called having principles something seriously lacking in the national party and the world at the moment. I see Taiwan has stood up to the mighty power we need to get some spine and do the same.

        1. I see Taiwan has stood up to the mighty power we need to get some spine and do the same.

          Spot on, Michelle! Tiny Taiwan is less than 400 km long and is separated from mainland China by a mere 180 km strait. If they can stand up to them, then what possible excuse do we have, not to do so!

          And yes, on Saturday Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected as Taiwan’s president with 57 percent of the vote, an all-time high…

          Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) managed to hold on to its majority in the 113-seat legislature as well, giving Tsai free rein to push on with her agenda in her final four-year term beginning May 20. Link here

          Also linked here
          Tsai, in her victory speech, said: “I would like to thank everyone who voted today regardless of how you voted. With each presidential election I want to show the world how much we value our democratic way of life and how much we value our nation, the democratic republic of Taiwan.”

  7. The problem is too deeply entrenched and has gone on for too long, for there to be any rapid change in public perception, I think. Change is only going to be possible as we take the longer term approach to reclaiming our own destiny as a nation. We need to regain control of our own land, of our own future; of the future of Aotearoa. That will take time, perseverance and commitment.

    1. Agree….however we need a clear vision of what we want as a nation. Disengaging with China is going to mean disengaging from a large part of the world economy. Are we prepared to take that hit. Perhaps life in NZ would not be so bad, if we grew our own veges for ourselves, got food from the sea for ourselves, and ran just enough dairy cows for our local needs. But we do need to accept we may not have the readies to pay for stuff like top shelf drugs, computers, latest technological developments etc….but really would we be any unhappier? Probably not. But people need to be convinced and be provided with a clear vision of the alternatives

      1. 1. It wouldn’t happen that suddenly – gradual
        2. There are other ways of conserving and of creating our own finances, – we just need to address that and apply energy etc to developing it.
        3. We have to change our economy anyway – to a more environmentally/ climate- accommodating way of life and of being.

  9. I’m not signing the petition because I don’t want to blame individual Chinese for what is something beyond their control, without a further thought.

    If the petition was aimed at the capitalists and their petty bourgeois hangers on who are parasitic on workers, regardless of their national origins, I would think about it.

    But really petitions are dangerous methods of struggle compared with down to earth class struggle which unites workers of all nationalities with other oppressed groups, including poor farmers working for the banks.

    So petitions are likely to divide workers along national and racial lines rather then unite them as a class across national borders, against the main enemy – the ruling classes of all nationalities and skin colours.

    For the first century of NZ’s colonial occupation, the Brits were in charge. The banking system was run by The City. From the 1980s the US took over the Brits role. Wall St bankers and hedgefunds were the main beneficiaries of the neo-liberal counter-revolution. In the new milenium China has appeared on the scene because China is the rising imperialist power while the Brits and the US are in decline.

    But it’s the ruling classes that drive this migration thing. It’s a class thing. Each imperialist power sucks profits out of Aotearoa for its ruling class, not for its working class. Those Brits and Chinese workers that came in the 19th century described so eloquently by Country Boy were mainly workers and peasants working for the bankers and bosses of the day. A minority became rich but the big majority remained relatively poor and the gap is constantly growing.

    Of course those better-off migrants who arrive in NZ to escape the working class in their own countries are a big part of the problem. They are treading on workers to advance themselves as would-be capitalists. They are most likely to unite with bosses in blaming workers for all capitalism’s problems.

    Many workers today are pressured by low wages or lack of jobs into self-employment with the the hope of becoming rich. All the political parties are trapped by an electorate that reflects that get rich mentality. Yet the majority of workers are still working for a wage and facing growing poverty and can never hope to escape wage labour.

    So what we need is a working class stand against the takeover of NZ by all local and foreign exploiters, and a united front between workers and all those struggling self-employed whatever their origin who are really just working for the same bosses.

    Rather than a petition that presents the problem as foreigners we need to unite NZ and foreign workers against all the bosses, domestic and foreign, into a mass workers party with one aim to take control of government and run the economy in the interest of the working masses.

    Along the way, both Kiwi and foreign bosses and their hangers-on who are only here to exploit Aotearoa – workers and resources – will be see for what they are, parasites, and will be faced with the prospect of working like everyone else to stay alive and survive or join the rest of the extinct species.

  12. This is weird. IV jumped on my phone, laptop and iPad, can sign other pititions but this one comes up blank.

  15. Dubious.

    I am supportive to this petition because the issue should indeed be discussed and analyzed in public and it is dubious that this does not happen. Perhaps this online petition will help. Certainly interesting to see the outcome….

    But.

    I also share some concerns raised by other contributors to this thread, e.g. sketching out that the petition appeals to racist perception and may confuse the actual battle line – a political structure that enables dubious characters to become parliamentarians.

    A deeper investigation into party list set-up across the whole parliament would probably reveal a wide array of amazing connections to all sorts of dubious self-serving actors and interests.

    …. and then there is the Five Eyes membership:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m6thvZQMSg

    Dubious.

  16. Living in Westland it is wierd how no one really wants to adress the Giant Panda in the room regarding the Chinese ownership of W Milk Products.
    The irony of National supporting farmers working for essentially the Chinese Commies is hysterically funny to me.
    If a Chinese official told Mayor Bruce Smith to don a pink tutu and dance in the main street like a monkey he would be there with bells on.

    1. Thanks Monkra. It’s one of those topics the righties in the media tend to skip over, like a puddle of spilt formula.

  18. Please, it is not in interest of China to hurt you! China exists for the benefit of Chinese people but other can share and learn from the wisdom of 5000 years study and civilization.

    So please understand there will be good progress for you.

    1. Yeah maybe we can pay to have a non democratically elected / non elected representative / dictatorial bureaucrat in the Chinese Communist Party as well , eh ?, – better still,- have one of our former spy trainers embedded in it. And maybe he can lie on his immigration forms just to complete the picture.

      Sorry pal, – no dice.

      And as for 5000 years of wisdom and study?… yeah. We’ve all got a cultural history.

  19. John Neo Liberal National Party Kennedy :

    ” Ask not what you can do for your country and economy , but what your country and economy can do for you ”.

    Yeehaaa !

  20. National’s craven deference to China

    “Over the past couple of years the depths the party, its leaders and MPs, have been plumbing have become more visible. In 2017, in government, they signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the PRC on the Belt and Road Initiative. In that document they – Simon Bridges as signatory – committed to “promote” the “fusion of civilisations”. Plenty of people will probably dismiss such statements as “meaningless”, the stuff of official communiques. But decent people – under no duress whatever – don’t sign up to things suggesting that today’s equivalent of Nazi-ruled Germany is a normal and decent regime. Of course, they would probably dispute the parallel, but that’s just willed deliberate blindness.”

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/02/17/448674/nationals-craven-deference-to-china#

    On a lighter note, John Oliver on China….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OubM8bD9kck

  21. Michael Reddell’s article above, from Feb last year, was followed by this one by Thomas Coughlan, also through Newsroom. government-warms-up-to-belt-and-road

    Coughlan’s article gives the present govt response in May last year to the Belt & Road Initiative. Jacinda, Winston and David Parker (present Trade Minister), are all quoted.

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