NZ Police help the PRC repression [UPDATE]

Michael Reddell China, NZ politics

[As noted below, despite checking several websites, including that of the PRC Embassy, the first part of this post was clearly in error. Accordingly I have updated the title of the post.   The second, and more substantive, point stands.]

Like everyone else I guess, I’ve been following pretty closely the coverage of the Christchurch attacks.    And in the course of all that I’d noticed various statements of condolence from various overseas governments.  Some perhaps perfunctory (it is the sort of thing decent governments do), others genuinely shocked and heartfelt.  I found it quite moving that the UK government was flying flags at half-mast on Friday.   But there were also statements from the French government, the German government, the Canadian government, various arms of the US government from the President down, the Norwegian government, the EU, the Australian government, the Dutch government, and that was before we even got to various Muslim-majority countries, some of whom had citizens killed in the attacks.

But, it appears, nothing at all from the government of the People’s Republic of China.  It is not as if they are unaware of the attacks –  when I checked there was a story in the Global Times and, searching for the Dutch response, the story I found was actually on Xinhua.   As we are often told, New Zealand firms do more business with firms from the People’s Republic of China than with firms in any other country.  There are lots of PRC nationals living here.  And barely two years ago, the then government (in the form of Simon Bridges) signed up to some aspirational goal of a “fusion of civilisations” with the PRC (in the Belt and Road MOU).  There is lots of talk from both sides  – and their champions – about wanting relationships of “mutual respect”.  It is has never been clear to me why we would want to respect such an evil regime, but I’m not the Prime Minister, Opposition leader, or the New Zealand China Council.  They do.  They claim to believe the rhetoric, even though the evidence (globally) is that the PRC has no respect for any other country; just that some are useful to them at times.  They seem pretty clear-sighted about that; it is our leaders who are deluded and/or attempt to delude us.

Perhaps I’ve missed some message, but you can check the (typically very useful) PRC Embassy website for yourself.    I’d count on the China Council to have tweeted a link to any statement of condolences, but there is nothing there either.   There is simply nothing visible.  Perhaps (or perhaps not) there was some quiet behind the scenes statement to MFAT, but friends don’t hide messages of condolence in circumstances like these.

(UPDATE:  It appears I had missed a statement of condolence. Thanks to the reader who drew this to my attention.)

Of course, the PRC is open to a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” risk.  After all, as a matter of official government policy, the PRC authorities currently have interned, in concentration camp conditions, an estimated 1.5 million Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.    People have been physically abused in these camps, denied all rights, and some have even been killed.  There are credible reports of the PRC using imprisoned Uighurs as a source for the large-scale PRC organ transplant business.  But even with this record, it is still quite a lapse for the PRC to have offered no official condolences on the mass murder of 49 (Muslim) people in New Zealand.  One of those small things that helps bring home the sort of regime the PRC is, and they way view a country like New Zealand (hint: not at all as the Prime Minister or the Leader of the Opposition would like us to believe).

(In fact, given that in Tarrant’s manifesto he is reported to have indicated [words amended to minimise risk re the Ardern govt’s censorship regime] that the country he most admires is the PRC –  ethnonationalism and all that I guess – you might have thought the PRC authorities would have been going out of their way to offer condolences.  Except that…….they didn’t.)

As I noted the other day, our Police –  certainly with the acquiesence of MFAT, and probably with that of the government –  has made itself party to aiding and abetting the dreadful abuses in Xinjiang (and elsewhere): their Assistant Commissioner is a visiting professor at the

People’s Public Security University of China – the first foreigner to hold such a role.

The university is where China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) trains the elite of China’s police. …..

The Ministry of Public Security does this dreadful stuff, and our Police are signing on to help (not, of course, consciously re that particular aspect, but it is all one organisation, and Police and MFAT know very well what they do –  not just in Xinjiang, but as instruments of oppression right across the country).

Perhaps now, once they have a few spare minutes, it might be time for Mike Bush, the Police Commissioner, to reconsider and tell his Assistant Commissioner to pull out of his visiting professor appointment, and stop assisting in the oppression of (inter alia) Muslims in Xinjiang.    If he lacks the decency, the imagination, the moral compass to do even that, then it is about time that the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs get the Minister of Police in a room and tell him to instruct the Commissioner to discontinue that relationship.

The New Zealand Police aiding and abetting the PRC (absence of) system of repression was appalling enough a few days ago.  With 49 dead Muslims in Christchurch –  and not a word from Beijing – it is well past time for our authorities to come to their senses, and completely dissociate ourselves, and our people, from the oppression in Xinjiang.

(Perhaps some belated PRC message will finally come, but it is now 2:15 on Saturday and there is still no sign of anything.  Times like these help confirm who your friends really are.)

48 thoughts on “NZ Police help the PRC repression [UPDATE]”

      • Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday sent condolences to New Zealand Governor-General Patsy Reddy on a deadly shooting in Christchurch, which killed at least 49 people and injured 48 others.

        https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d774d32677a4d33457a6333566d54/index.html

        Strange that the condolescence went to the Governor General. Looks like Jacinda Ardern and the Labour/Green/NZFirst government is clearly not listed on China’s friendship list.

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      • What that means is if Jacinda Ardern wants to arrange a meeting with President Xi, she has firstly to follow British Crown protocols and make a formal request through the Governor General. No wonder there is a delay in meeting President Xi. We have not followed British Crown protocols. The meet request must come from our Governor General as technically under the Treaty of Waitangi, we do not have a NZ government, only representatives of the British Crown.

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    • Deceptive – they’re playing with you – the first sentence on the embassy page quotes the number of deaths at 49 – information that was not known and not released until late Friday Night – approx 10 pm or after – the 49th victim passed even later in hospital

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      • That number of death has just risen to 50. I think the Chinese embassy will just update their condolences message for the new number soon as well. A very sad day indeed.

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  2. There was a minutes silence held in the House of Commons too, along with quite a number of sincere messages of condolence from members of Parliament. The UK will always be a friend of NZ.

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  5. Michael,

    A reflection on the last 36 hours that I have had (beyond complete disbelief and sadness) is that there is a striking similarity between the policy debate over the past 30 years at a technocratic level regarding gun control in NZ and initiatives to improve NZ productivity performance.

    In both instances there appears to have been regular reviews and policy advice with no meaningful reform despite obvious shortcomings and risks with the status-quo. No doubt there are plenty of other examples (housing, child abuse etc.)

    Something is rotten at the core of our system of good governance and public management across multiple areas it appears.

    This suggests to me that the core New Zealand public service/government is seriously deficient in its duties of seeing worthy reform being implemented based on sound, detailed policy advice and analysis.

    Whether this is a failure at a bureaucratic level, political or both is less clear but it appears to be systemic.

    The people of New Zealand deserve better.

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  7. I would suspect the delay in conveying a message of condolence was due to political debate in the CCP over wording and possible counter reaction. China is not exactly a favoured nation in the eyes of many muslim majority countries precisely because of their treatment of muslim citizens in China. Regimes that see everything in terms of political advantage and propaganda won’t want any opportunity for criticism to rebound, such as “while you are offering condolence to NZ Muslims, spare a thought for your Uigher people who have no mosques open on a Friday due to China policy.” So far they’ve been lucky no one’s bowled them that spinner.

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    • There was no delay. Condolences were conveyed by President Xi to our Governor General on Friday who probably did not realise that she is now the recognised representative of the British Crown that officially governs New Zealand.

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  8. Guess what ? some Chinese media and We Media channels are all talking about the gunman, Brenton Tarrant’s updated post on social media one day before the attack. one sentence from the 74-page “declaration” says:

    the nation with the closest political and social values to my own is the People’s Republic of China.

    Analysts guess there are two similar aspects between the self-claimed eco-fascist and the CCP. first one is they both hate Muslims, and the second is the way they treat Muslims. CCP may make Uyghurs disappear if they cannot convert Uyghurs or brainwash them, while Tarrant shot Muslims by guns.

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    • Let’s not forget that 16 Muslim Palestinians in peaceful protest were shot dead by Israeli soldiers celebrating the new Trump US embassy in Jerusalem

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      • Peaceful protest?! Oh please. The far left mainstream media aren’t exactly impartial about anything to do with Israel. Hamas aren’t known for their peacefulness and most of those killed were Hamas soldiers – attacking the Israeli border. With the express intent of getting inside Israel to murder Jews.

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      • Israeli forces shot and killed 57 Palestinians and injured more than 2700 during mass protests yesterday along the Gaza border, while just a few kilometres away Israel and the United States held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

        In addition, a baby died from tear gas inhalation, the Gaza Health Ministry said, bringing the overall death toll to 58.

        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12051254

        Correction; not just 16 killed, actually 58 killed in peaceful protest.

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    • One coincidence between the terrorist in NZ and President Xi: both had a family member commit suicide when they were late teenagers. That is the age at which the male brain is in the midst of reoganising itself. Our terrorist is reported as being ‘very intense’ and obviously President Xi must have exceptional will power to move from peasant farmer to leader of China.

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  9. Your obsession with the PRC is just that and it’s become tiresome and predictable. On this issue it is simply pathetic.

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    • Being obsessed by the Chinese Communist Party makes sense to me and for the same reasons Churchill condemned Hitler long before WW2. I cannot see how Bainimarama in Fiji was condemned by the NZ establishment and govt but China can have president Xi for life and we say nothing that might upset them.

      But I do agree with you that how and when condolences were expressed has little to do with international friendship. It is quite possible that not every country has even sent condolences and I suspect the failure to update a website is not Chinese govt policy indecision but more likely their junior staff member responsible for updates being on holiday.

      The fact that this madman expressed admiration of PRC has no relevence. Neither does his nationality since he chose to live in NZ for the last two years.

      The universal condemnation by New Zealanders is significant; it proves we have a set of values that unites the wide variety of New Zealand citizens – it puts the currently popular ‘diversity’ agenda that attempts to divide us into into perspective.

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      • He is an Australian national who trained in NZ for 2 years. Wonder who trained him? What about the 2nd shooter? I think they have released the other 3 suspects as unrelated.

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      • Ok no second shooter. A lone Australian gunman. How does one gunman shoot up one mosque and then manage to take his time and drive around and have enough time to shoot up a second mosque?

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  11. the PRC authorities currently have interned, in concentration camp conditions, an estimated 1.5 million Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.

    What a load of tosh. You should stop simply regurgitating Western propaganda:

    “delegates from eight countries, including Pakistan, Venezuela, and Russia, assessed the region’s achievements in various fields. They rated the region and the country highly in the areas of anti-terrorism and religious protection. The delegates were invited by the Chinese foreign ministry and evaluated many social and economic changes that have occurred in recent years. “The Chinese development model is an example for all of the world,” permanent representative of Venezuela Jorge Valero said.
    https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d3d674d3049444e33457a6333566d54/index.html

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  12. Give it a rest Micheal. Being so pernicious about China’s condolences when you were in fact wrong weaknes other points you might have of value. Stick to some sort of balance or you just end up being another bleater from the sidelines.

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  13. And I night have added. How do we make progress as a society…? Presumably by education. Therefore surely having some bridge to China that shares our NZ values (even if it’s just cops talking to other coppers) is better than not doing anything at all about it. There’s a least a chance for improvement in understanding. I can’t support your analysis on this point.

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    • It is an arguable point, of course, and one that presumably the Police and MFAT use. I might even have regarded it as defensible a decade ago, but not now…..now it is just association with evil, and by such official association will be taken by Beijing as indifference to their evil. Xi JInping’s policies on Uighurs, Christians, civil rights lawyers, citizens just wanting to speak up and out, aren’t going to be changed for the better by one NZ policeman.

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    • Sort of like the mouse educating the elephant. Yeah right. The bottom line is China doesn’t share our values and shows no desire to change. It’s all about control and perpetuating the regime, and suppressing criticism inside the country. The changes since 1949 in China particularly since the early 1990’s are all about ensuring regime control will survive.

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  14. As Breitbart News alone reported among major news outlets, Fulani jihadists racked up a death toll of over 120 Christians over the past three weeks in central Nigeria, employing machetes and gunfire to slaughter men, women, and children, burning down over 140 houses, destroying property, and spreading terror.

    The New York Times did not place this story on the front page; in fact, they did not cover it at all. Apparently, when assessing “all the news that’s fit to print,” the massacre of African Christians did not measure up. The same can be said for the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, the LA Times, and every other major paper in the United States.

    The news shows from the three major television channels did not mention the story, and nor did CNN or MSNBC.

    There are several possible explanations for this remarkable silence, and none of them is good.

    Since, in point of fact, Muslim radicals kill Christians around the world with alarming frequency, it is probable that one more slaughter did not seem particularly newsworthy to the decision-makers at major news outlets. Muslims being killed, on the other hand, may strike many as newsworthy precisely because it is so rare.
    https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2019/03/17/media-silence-surrounds-muslim-massacre-of-christians/

    And Yet
    Christchurch mosque shootings: Major Kiwi companies set to pull ads from Facebook and Google
    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12213886

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    • On RNZ they are jumping up and down about why the police weren’t looking at right-wingers in NZ. The hapless National Front were always hounded by middle class leftists who celebrated on (former Mediawatch host) Russel Brown’s blog.
      One of them was knocked over by a supporter: “he’s a Vulcan” wrote Russell Brown.

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