Whom would you believe, Dr Anne-Marie Brady on Communist China’s influence – or our pathetically performing politicians?
The marvel is that any New Zealanders at all still bother to listen to politicians. They, and the mainstream media, now make a pretty hopeless pair. And as, like most, I make a point of not wasting time by watching politicians perform for a TV audience, it was strictly by accident that I came across the Q&A programme this last Sunday evening. I stayed because of the promise of the appearance of the brave and well-informed Dr Anne-Marie Brady, held in well-deserved respect world-wide because of her deep knowledge of the way that China’s Communist Party – the CCP – interferes in the internal affairs of other countries.
What it has achieved so far, to a culpable extent that would never have occurred if our politicians had not been so intellectually lazy, and culpably under-informed, is what New Zealanders urgently need to wake up to. But shockingly, the reaction of Corin Dann’s political hangers-on, his poorly chosen audience, was incredible. Basically, Dr Brady’s astute, thoroughly objective and well-balanced account of the way (and extent to which) China’s Communist leadership has worked to influence the political decision-making of our major parties was simply derided.
They scoffed. Their ignorance, or assumed ignorance, was simply astounding. What was most striking is that what came across was the level of stupidity in reaction to her fine and timely presentation. It was so marked that it can only bring politicians, plus its in-group hanger-ons and the political commentariat into even more contempt.
Yet Anne-Marie’s Brady’s scholarly investigation of what exactly is at stake in relation to the targeting of New Zealand, Australia, the UK and other Western democracies is probably unequalled. She has written extensively in books and well-respected publications, and it was for this reason that I invited her some years ago to be a keynote speaker at the annual Summer Sounds Symposium which I founded and ran for a decade and a half to open up genuine debate on the important issues facing this country – both internally and externally. Attending, together with her Chinese husband and children, we were left with no doubt, after her incisive and well-substantiated contribution, that she has become a world expert on this question.
Moreover, because of the deep concern in other countries about the extent to which Communist China has already interfered in attempts to gain control of important businesses and strategic assets, as well as influencing the political process, every one of these countries, except New Zealand, is now investigating what has been happening and what extra safeguards need now to be mounted to protect our democracies.
When Corin Dann’s Q & A lightweight audience basically dismissed what she said, not only was their ignorance – or their unwillingness to face up to what has been happening on their watch – a revelation. It also reminded me of Minister Chris Finlayson’s inexcusable dismissal of Dr Brady’s findings when questioned at a public meeting about China’s soft influence in this country.
https://croakingcassandra.com/2017/09/20/the-political-cone-of-silence-with-slurs/
What shocked many then listening is that Finlayson at the time was Minister in Charge of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service – and should have been expected to know that Dr Brady’s published research is impeccable. His apparent attempt to personally rubbish her, and to dismiss any suggestion of Communist Chinese influence in this country raises questions about what our political parties are up to. We all know that our government’s first duty is the defence of the realm. Yet the then Minister in charge of our security services appeared to be spectacularly ignorant on such an important issue.
Finlayson has not been alone – and not only are National Party spokespersons, present and past, some of whom have had lucrative, special relationships with Chinese organisations – arguably none of which would be now permitted to survive without the tacit approval of Communist Party leadership – dodging the question of just what has been happening. Jacinda Ardern, who apparently likes to address her followers as Comrades, has also dismissed the fact of the CCP’s involvement in our affairs.
A few other important articles have appeared, particularly, particularly in the New Zealand Herald, and yet the guest speakers on this Q&A programme appeared to be spectacularly ignorant of the well substantiated facts they contain. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11958211
Inevitably, the question is going to be asked right around the country about the extent to which individual politicians have been unduly influenced by the promise of party donations and personal profit through interactions with business associations basically under the control of the CCP.
It’s not the first time that questions have been asked about the extent of the very generous funding of our political parties – as with the National Party coffers pre-election. John Key’s support by wealthy Chinese businessman and his efforts to change our flag – removing the Union Jack, – also raised eyebrows.
In my own book “The 100 Days –Claiming Back New Zealand – what has gone wrong and how we can control our politicians”, I included a chapter titled State Assets, New Zealand and Chinese ownership. In it I noted what a highly educated New Zealand Chinese, who many years ago had protested at the butchery of Tiananmen Square, had read at the time in a Weekend Herald interview with the Chinese Ambassador, and consequently felt both fear and disgust. The reason? The ambassador’s push for military ties between New Zealand and Communist China.
It is no doubt news to most New Zealanders that military to military cooperation between China and New Zealand has developed quickly in recent years…as is also a fact that during Helen Clarke’s time in office, several dozen high-ranking military Communist Chinese delegations were shown around our own military bases and made privy to our defence capabilities – regarded by concerned and knowledgeable commentators as highly inadequate – which no doubt the Chinese have also noted.
These and other issues were raised at the time Communist China was involved in buying up our government debt in record volumes, and it was mooted that at least half our major New Zealand firms were going to end up in the hands of what are basically commercially-fronted, but Communist China-underpinned companies. Questions were being asked what the implications are for New Zealand when China begins to intrude more and more into our affairs, already exercising pressure on the Falun Gong within this country, and incredibly enough, suggesting joint military exercises. How soon, it was asked, can we expect to see Chinese warships anchored in New Zealand ports?
If these questions seem alarmist we need to make ourselves more fully informed about what exactly is happening. Why has the OIO endorsed virtually all the CCP- backed buy up of our prime farmland – with questions now being raised about its possible use for military purposes?
For more – read my book with its well-researched over-view of what has gone wrong in so many areas of what was once a far more stable and prosperous democracy – and how we can strategically work to control our politicians. *
For those New Zealanders with an understandable distaste for now backing any of our political parties – once burnt, twice shy – its analysis of what has been going wrong in this country, and why – shows the very achievable way forward for New Zealanders to ourselves make the decisions determining our directions – not what are now regarded as basically under informed, incompetent and, in some cases, even, possibly corrupt politicians.
Our political class has betrayed this country, and Dr Brady deserves all our support.
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Join us to help claim it back! See www.100days.co.nz
Amy Brooke – “The 100 Days – Claiming back New Zealand…what has gone wrong and how we can control our politicians. “ *
