> Besides which, that sounds like a One-nation policy. That sort of sounds-sorta-racist/nationalist ideology won't fly in modern Australia.
Your first paragraph was fine. This is over the line. Bullshit like this is why people of opposing viewpoints can't discuss things - because assholes label them like this. "Oh, but i didn't call them racist!" Stop playing games. We aren't idiots.
If you can't keep discourse harming comments like this to yourself, you shouldn't bother at all, because you make it impossible for actually reasonable people to discuss different viewpoints.
Or you can just continue then wonder why politics are "so bad". Look in the mirror.
This isn't Facebook. HackerNews isn't about to go around accusing people of being OneNation sympathises though I do understand the position you're taking here.
Being critical of the influence of fee-paying students in University can quickly become hyperbolic.
The original comment was talking about blocking Chinese money from coming into Australia on the basis that it was associated with mainland Chinese ideology. That is unadulturated nationalism and it will almost certainly be interpreted as racist by the worlds up-and-coming superpower and probably in Australia as well. It clearly aligns with the goals of the mid-far right.
I'm not accusing anyone of anything, I'm just pointing out we have a political ideology that wants this and it is a long way out of the mainstream. "We want to isolate ourselves from China" is a radically fringe position in Australia. We are not a nationalist nation, we are a nation of immigrants with a very fluid identity. It would also be strategic suicide to antagonise the regional superpower.
We are not going to exclude China. If China wants to send students to Australia we are going to take them in and accept whatever money they have. That isn't an accusation, that is a frank assessment of what has been obvious in Australian politics for the last decade.
I feel for Hong Kong, I truly do, but China has a long reach now; much like America. You can't run from American influence anywhere in the world [0]. There is no hope of escaping China while still basically being in Asia.
We are happy to take any students’ university fees and provide them with a market competitive educational curriculum.
The reality of China’s population being 56,3 times that of Australia coupled with a non-democratic, expansionist government is great cause for concern.
The amount of influence China already exerts in Australia is alarming, as is evidenced by the property bubble they helped fuel by laundering money outside of the eyes of the communist party. Or the propaganda machine that prints free English language newspapers for distribution in major Australian capitals.
Business and government and intrinsically linked in China and Australia is well advised not to become China’s subservient lap dog.
I don't agree, I'm far left leaning and consider Chinese money or rather, seeing a greater scrutiny of it's use in Australia to see partisan support.
Similar to how Sam Dastyari [1] was forced out after he'd been shown to receive significant donations. I'm not across this piece as much as I would like so I may be missing some nuance there.
I imagine China's influence in Australian State and Federal government to be a lot more pervasive than this. But it's more of a dirty secret than we're led to believe.
