China

A few quick points on China: 

• my previous thoughts can be accessed via https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-peter-hartcher-red-flag-waking.html; 
• there is a difference between the CCP and the Chinese people, but China is an authoritarian, totalitarian and despotic dictatorship; 
• the suggestion that an investigation needed to be made into the initial detection (not the outbreak) of the pandemic always was and still is stupid - it was, IMO, purely for political point scoring; 
• the inflammatory and fake photo post by a mid-level lackey in the Chinese foreign ministry was clearly instructed by the CCP (see above re authoritarian nature of that 1984 style totalitarian dictatorship) and was part of the CCP's attempt to enforce  doublethink for what the CCP considers to be a thoughtcrime by the free, and largely sovereign and independent nation of Australia; 
• the current problems are NOT a trade war - Australia has not retaliated with economic measures: it is an economic attack by a larger economic power against a smaller economic power; 
• Public Relations Minister Morrison has stuffed up his handling of many things - including Australia's international relationships. He needs to follow New Zealand's example, and stand up to all foreign powers. On the newspeak post from the mid-level lackey, he should, IMO, have said something along the lines of "A small number of our soldiers are being investigated for abuses committed while the rest were doing their best to bring a genuine peace. In view of the CCP's relayed comments, we look forward to their similar transparent and genuine investigation into human rights abuses in Tibet and Xinjiang".
  Decades ago I wrote a letter for Amnesty International about a jailed dissident in China, and received a reply saying "what about your Indigenous Australians?" I wrote back saying thank you for your offer to help on that issue: here are the addresses for you to write to. There was silence, of course, so I sent another letter asking if they had written a month or so later - with, predictably, no response, as the original response was a lie sent by a brainwashed sock puppet; 
• Australia needs to pull its head out of - er, the sand, and stop relying on easy overseas markets. We need to engage with India and fix the problems and barriers there as much as we can, we need to start engaging seriously with Africa - a market of the future, possibly late this century, and we need to start addressing the inherent idiocy and risk of monopoly markets - of investing in just one customer.
  

PS - China is not all bad: they have announced new measures to improve recycling, and their landing on the Moon is a major event with potential science benefits for the world.