The international community’s response to China’s (CCP) bullying is expanding, with politicians from Western countries expressing their support for “drinking Australian wine” in response to China’s increased tax on Australian wine as political retaliation. Some former Australian parliamentarians believe that the Chinese Communist Party’s usual “killing the chicken as an example to the monkey” tactic is no longer appropriate, and an alliance of democratic countries has been formed to counter Beijing.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), which was established in June this year, launched the “Drinking Australian Wine to Counter China’s Tariff Bullying” campaign earlier this month, and its influence is growing, attracting many politicians and citizens from various countries to participate.
Australian Chinese cartoonist Ba Diaocho published a cartoon titled “Australian Red Wine for Democracy” on social media on Monday (7th). He said in an interview that the current call for support of Australian wine by parliamentarians is a great measure to curb the Chinese Communist Party’s bullying, and that if democratic countries unite and support each other, it will be support for allies who uphold democratic values and the best deterrent to Beijing.
In the face of Chinese government bullying, don’t forget that there are many other countries and consumer markets in the world besides China,” said Ba Ducao. If the free world is united, it can help each other out multilaterally in the face of China’s sanctions, as people in many countries are now buying Australian wine to offset China’s penalties for Australian wine. Only with more and more international cooperation and solidarity can countries that dare to speak out against China feel more confident and secure, and can deter the Chinese government.
According to Paddy Power, China’s expansion and penetration of Australia over the years in the name of increased trade has also created a dependence on the Chinese market and a recent awakening in Australia towards democratic values. Beijing sees trade sanctions as a way to yield to its own attitudes and to “make an example” of other democracies that interfere with China through such bullying.
Beijing is punishing Australia economically because of Australia’s recent tough stance on China, from its insistence on investigating the source of the neo-crowning virus to other issues such as its tough stance on democracy in Hong Kong, its treatment of some of Hong Kong’s youth, and visas for protesters. Australia is at the forefront of liberal nations taking positive action against China and has become a thorn in Beijing’s side, and the Chinese government wants to use Australia as an example to all democracies around the world.
According to former Australian MP Hu Yuming, the Xi Jinping regime’s aggressive bullying will only serve to unite countries with similar or identical values.
China has completely underestimated the determination of people with similar or identical values to unite with one another, and if you bully one, you bully them all,” Hu said. The tougher Xi Jinping is, the more likely the West will unite, just like how people fought against fascism during World War II.
The Transnational Parliamentary Coalition on China Policy (hereinafter referred to as “the Coalition”) currently has more than 200 members of parliament from 19 countries, and its goal is to “reform the way democracies engage with China.
Commenting on the “Drink Australian Wine, Fight China’s Tariff Bullying” campaign, Coalition spokesperson Samuel Armstrong said: “Australia is not alone, China threatens Australia and all of us.
The video recording of the action included appearances by New Zealand Labour Party MP Louisa Wall, Reinhard Bütikofer, a senior member of the European Parliament from the German Greens, British MEP Iain Duncan Smith, Italian Senator Roberto Rampi, and US Representative Ted Yoho, among others.
In an emailed response to a request for comment from Channel, Mr. Bitikoff said, “By expressing solidarity with Australia and opposing Chinese coercion, the Transnational Parliamentary Coalition on China Policy expresses our belief that Democrats opposed to authoritarian pressure must support each other. In our video, we express this determination with a bit of humor. But we are serious about what needs to be pushed.
We want to send a simple message that there are many ways to resist, and that every citizen can get involved. We also believe that Beijing’s toughness towards Australia is not an isolated action. If what they do with Australia today is successful, they may do the same thing with other countries tomorrow. In the EU, and especially in my home country of Germany, there is a growing awareness of the totalitarian Chinese Communist Party and its extreme “international assertiveness,” and China must be made to understand that such policies have a price. When we call for the defense of democracy, we will not be tempted to look the other way because of the vast market that China offers.
Elisabet Lann, a member of the Swedish Christian Democrats, holds up a bottle of Australian Penfolds in the video and says, “Let the Chinese Communist Party know that we will not give in to power by drinking a bottle or two of Australian wine.
In the video, Australian Senator Kimberley Kitching says: “A few days ago, the Chinese government submitted a list of 14 complaints to the Australian side, including stopping its focus on human rights in China and expressing its views on international order.
The list of 14 grievances by the Chinese government to which Mr. Kitchin was referring was a diplomatic briefing sent to Australian media by the Chinese Embassy in Australia after the meeting between Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Kan on November 17, which listed 14 “sins” of Australia, including the blocking of Huawei and the demand for an investigation into the origin of the virus.
The Chinese cartoonist Ba Dudcho published a cartoon on social media on Monday (7th) titled “Red Wine for Australian Democracy”, in which he argued that the call for support of Australian wine by parliamentarians is a great step to curb Chinese bullying. (Ba Ducao Cao)
Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt, co-chairman of the European Council on Foreign Relations, also supported the move, arguing that China was attempting to “weaponize” trade and use the weapon to settle a political dispute with Australia. China’s actions are likely to set itself on fire.
Former Swedish MP Goran Lindblad, former Vice-President of the Swedish Council of Europe, also told us that this action by Western parliamentarians is a start and will serve as a good example to the general public.
Hong Kong democrat Luo Guancong, currently in exile in the UK, and Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Chen Zhiquan took to social media to support the campaign.
Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan President Yu Shyi-kun also stated on his Facebook page that in response to Australia’s economic sanctions against China for advocating human rights in the international community, Taiwan’s National Assembly purchased more than 200 bottles of Australian wine in support of Australia’s action; he also called on everyone to participate in the action and stand with Australia.
The relationship between the two countries has continued to cool as Australia has countered Chinese infiltration, demanded an investigation into the origin of viruses, blocked Huawei, and spoken out against the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on Hong Kong. Recently, China has imposed retaliatory trade sanctions on Australia. After banning Australian red wine, lobster, barley, logs, and coal from entering Chinese customs, Beijing announced late last month a tariff of up to 212% on Australian red wine imports. China is the most important export market for Australian wine, and Australian wine merchants have been forced to look for other global markets.
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