Uhlmann’s arguments hardly do justice to the Age as it’s senior political editor reminding me of the 60’s cry of ” All the Way with LBJ”.
Yes, we might have politically different systems the CPA of China recognises that. However, it has nevertheless raised the tide in China for everyone so much, so poverty and starvation for 1.3 billion people is something relegated to the past. Kids from rural China can be educated and are today’s Teachers Doctors and Lawyers in Shanghai, sending money home. These kids have never seen anything less than a 6% GDP in their life, so why shouldn’t they love and be proud of their country. Nationalist demand we all be here. The tiny population of Hong Kong and Uyghurs are they worse off than Indigenous Australians or people in detention on Manus and Nauru? We stole children and never sent them back to their families. China isn’t doing that. Does Uhlmann a political editor really believe that in the current world atmosphere nobody hasn’t an interest to keep the HK demonstrations ongoing? They started over a single law about extradition, which was stopped. Who has the most to gain by making China look bad?
Uhlmann’s talks of China’s aggression it has one military post outside the country we have more than they do and our closest ally the US has 8oo in some 160 countries. Australia and China really have a defence system. America has a business a military-industrial complex which is central to its economy. If that business of war grinds to a halt, so does America. So to talk of China’s aggressive interests seems stupid and hardly thought out to me. Is Uhlmann a paid propagandist for Murdoch and Trump?
As for 400,000 Chinese students and the mass of Chinese tourists flooding the world today does that really look like the moves of an increasingly totalitarian government or a decreasing one. It seems to me Peter Dutton is fast removing freedoms of Australians and becoming more paranoid than China. The CPA knows what it has done that freedom is dangerous and they know they are an anachronism, but they are still providing their people increasing freedom and allowing their citizens to do business across the world without an army to back them as the Americans do. Meanwhile, poverty is growing here as is debt and savings are falling we, in fact, seem to be heading in the opposite direction handing the country to the control of our corporate mandarins.
Universities had the funding cut and were told shape up or ship out to raise their own funds and maintain affordable education for Australians. They didn’t volunteer to do it so yes the Chinese are revenue forced on them by largely the Howard government. How mismanaged is our tertiary education system? It’s as mismanaged as the Australian governments have forced them to be? Are these Foreign students expected to stay on as graduates Uhlmann seems to think so? No, they are meant to go home yet he expects their standard of English is meant to be as good as his. When Australian University staff can’t be guaranteed tenure, how can the teaching at any level be regarded as first class?
What we hear today is the drum that was beaten back in the 50’s ban the Communist Party, the dominoes are falling, They are stealing our ideas is the anything new Uhlmann, and Ch9 it seems is taking us backwards (ODT)
“Australia is at an inflection point. For the first time our major trading partner is not a liberal democracy and it is a strategic rival of our key ally. We need to have a serious debate and have a right to expect more of those who lead our academic institutions.”
olddogthoughts 