Thousands of innocent civilians are dying– men, women, children– being bombed to death as they sit in their homes. Thousands of Ukrainian and Russian men have been unwillingly drafted into the military, torn from their families, forced to kill each other, and forced to die. Images and videos of cold-blooded genocide plague our news in Continue reading »
China
The Ghost Shark, a new underwater drone being developed for the Australian Navy, could kill off the deeply flawed plan to acquire eight nuclear submarines for a projected cost as much as $360 billion. Australia’s defence department says the new undersea drone would provide the navy with “a stealthy, long-range autonomous undersea warfare capability which Continue reading »
Those who curb real trade and expand financial sanctions don’t seem to understand the likeliness of a destructive outcome for all. The West is wrecking the foundations of its prosperity. The United States has struck another blow at free trade. This week, US President Joe Biden announced wide-ranging tariff increases, including to 100 per cent Continue reading »
The Extradition hearing of Dan Duggan, an Australian citizen and father of six who has been held in solitary confinement for 19 months in breach of U.N. conventions at the request of the United States, will be held this Friday in a Magistrate’s Court in Sydney. Astonishing details have emerged of his relationship with the Continue reading »
Relations between great powers and their neighbouring regions are often fraught. The cases of the United States and Latin America, or the European Union and North Africa, come to mind. For instance, tensions related to immigration from Latin America and North Africa, has led to the rise of right wing populism in the United States Continue reading »
Some readers will remember the Polly Waffle snack bar. This favourite was a hollow crunchy biscuit tube, coated with chocolate and filled with fluffy marshmallow. After a significant break in production, the Polly Waffle has been re-introduced to the Australian market. Many of us waited with bated tastebuds to sample the resurrected Polly Waffle. It’s Continue reading »
The complaint by Canberra about the latest Chinese military flare-up close to China’s coast is not only hypocritical but highly escalatory. An Australian MH-60R Seahawk helicopter was 8,535km from home and flew close to China’s northeastern coasts. So a Chinese warplane shot flares to warn it off. Suppose a Chinese military aircraft flew 8,535km to Continue reading »
Australia’s most severe China knowledge gap is the virtual collapse of University-level advanced Chinese language study, together with the study of Chinese society, politics and culture. This is the major finding of a report, Australia’s China Knowledge Capability, published in 2023 by the Australian Academy of the Humanities. The main program that provided this expertise Continue reading »
Last month Prime Minister Albanese cheerfully welcomed the Chinese government’s removal of import duties on Australian wine. Following numerous government-to-government talks held in Canberra and Beijing over recent months, it was seen as a positive step in a new era of Australia-China relations. For winemakers, it was merely a small win on the journey back Continue reading »
Right now, knowledge and understanding of China and its culture, its people and its history could help get relations back on a sound footing, but sadly teaching and research in schools and universities has fallen to a critically low level. Pioneers who helped established Chinese Studies some half a century ago feel that their efforts Continue reading »