World
List and archive of articles published or linked to, and discussion thereupon. No article is closed for discussion.
Contents
China and Australia
Hong Kong’s Democracy Confronts Its Own Pandemic Threat
by Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr 2020 link
For senior figures in Hong Kong’s democracy movement, April is truly the “cruelest month”—and has been for two years in a row.
Last April, the most prominent nonstudent leaders of the 2014 protest movement known as the Umbrella Movement were sent to prison. Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man, both in their 50s, were longtime advocates of nonviolent civil disobedience. Last weekend, the police arrested 15 more veterans of the uphill battle to preserve the freedoms that make Hong Kong special...
Paul Keating's speech on Australia's China policy
by Paul Keating 18 Nov 2019, published in The Guardian link
... The key question is about the United States itself: Is the United States capable of fundamental renewal? Can it overcome its debilitating political gridlock; can it regain its sense of magnanimity and mission; can it rebuild its productive base and more equitably divide its wealth? Can it renew the enthusiasm of its middle and working classes for the national story, and can it redress the growth in its budget imbalance and national debt? ...
So where does all this leave Australia?
The answer: in the deep blue sea between two great powers – the US and China. ...
Australia's moment: Our opportunity and responsibility in the Asia-Pacific region
by Peter Khalil MP, Sep 5, 2018 link
... Not enough consideration or political action at least until very recently has been given to the need for Australia to strengthen its relationship with other middle powers in our region such as Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Vietnam and beyond, such as Canada and France.
But in the age of Trump and Xi, when these two powers are active agents of change to the world order we have known, we are compelled to do so.
