OPINION
Simon O’Connor
Husband, step-father, and longtime student of philosophy and history. Also happen to be a former politician, including chairing New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Committee.
Dear Winston
As we now all know, China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, is visiting New Zealand and Australia this week. As our biggest trading partner, it is vitally important New Zealand engage constructively with China and continue to develop trade.
However, I thought I would write with a few further thoughts you might consider raising with Minister Yi. I am sure many, including our bigger exporters, prefer you just talk money, but there is quite a long (and growing) list of other issues that you should address. We are after all a liberal democracy with a belief in human rights, the international rule of law, and keen on a peaceful Indo-Pacific.
Much of what I suggest below will be familiar to you and Minister Yi. He is well experienced in foreign affairs, returning to the role just under a year ago when his predecessor effectively disappeared. We can be grateful that New Zealand is a democracy and Ministers don’t tend to disappear without comment.
So, putting money and trade aside, perhaps we can start with China’s interference here in New Zealand. Your various briefings on becoming Minister made these activities clear. You may recall the exposure of secret Chinese police stations operating here as well as compromised Chinese made CCTV cameras in at least 60 government sites. Both were stories I was involved with uncovering, and it has been notable how quiet governments have been around this. The old adage ‘the silence is deafening’ comes to mind. China makes a big deal of people not interfering with its internal matters, yet doesn’t seem too worried about interfering in our democracy.
There is of course the ever-present issue of Taiwan. It may be prudent to ask how it is ‘good form’ for China to repeatedly and aggressively threaten violence against this democratic country. I visited Taiwan late last year and it is a vibrant thriving society. That there are almost daily Chinese military incursions – both by plane and boat – is highly concerning. That China’s President has openly threatened invasion is surely enough reason for New Zealand to speak clearly on this matter. If you need to link back to a trade lens, then just keep in mind that at least $10 trillion dollars of damage (that’s US Dollars by the way!) is estimated to the global economy if China invades. That will make the costs associated with the management of covid or the invasion of Ukraine look small.
Speaking of vibrant and thriving, Hong Kong used to be but is no longer. Ever since the CCP violently crushed the ‘yellow umbrella’ democracy protests and then introduced their new National Security Law, Hong Kong’s vibrancy and openness has been lost. As I write, there is a sham trial of Jimmy Lai (owner and editor of the popular media outlet Apple Daily) whose only crime was to have a public opinion. It would do well for New Zealand to ask why China seems so obsessed with scapegoating this man as supposedly the mastermind behind all the democracy protests. In fact, we do know the answer – it allows other Hong Kongers to excuse their own actions at the time and now fall quietly into line with the new CCP government. With such an obvious dynamic in play, it should be straightforward to call out the legal charade for what it is.
Please also raise the case of Andy Li. He was one of twelve young Hong Kong protestors who tried to flee the oncoming repression but was captured. Sadly, there are many convincing reports of his torture to obtain information to convict him, Jimmy, and others under the draconian National Security Law. It will pay to discuss this law more generally as the Hong Kong authorities are updating Article 23 as we write – making pretty much any resistance to authority a criminal offence. Any last vestige of freedom in Hong Kong is about to be crushed.
Now, I know time will be short when you meet but the list is long. There is the ongoing harassment of Tibetans and let us not forget the continued oppression of Uyghurs in the Xingjian Province. For both, there are almost weekly reports of further repressions, ‘struggle sessions’ (a favourite of communists), and slave labour practices. Speaking of that – when is the New Zealand government going to finally progress Modern Slavery laws?
We also have the harassment of what are known as ‘house Christians’. We even had the arrest of the most senior Catholic leader in the area, Cardinal Zen. Even in New Zealand, religious freedom is still seen as important.
Then there is all the corporate espionage, debt traps for small Pacific countries, ‘policing’ cooperation agreements with the likes of Solomon Islands and Fiji, the questionable construction of new bases in Antarctica, the harvesting of kiwis data via TikTok, and more.
So, enjoy your meetings with Minister Yi but perhaps with all these matters, you will need more than just an official dinner and one meeting.