THOSE who do actually read Stirling Hamilton’s monthly Ol’ Blind Joe diatribes in the The Toodyay Herald will have noted his comments on China; a nation he regards as a ‘friend’ as opposed to that harbinger of all evil, the United States.
His piece in last month’s Herald where he dismisses the threat of China is simply dangerous thinking.
Does he really believe the propaganda emanating from China?
Is he really willing to discard the protection of the US, a long-time ally, for the honeyed promises of a communist dictatorship that is now trying to bully us into line?
Read more
In case Mr Hamilton forgets, could I just remind him that:
- Xi Jinping made himself China’s President for life in 2018 – the classic act of a dictator;
- Ridiculous and aggressive claims on territories in the South China Sea far from China are being pursued and military bases established on what were previously half-submerged sandbars;
- Jimmy Lai – proprietor of the Apple Daily in Hong Kong – has been arrested because the People’s Republic of China (PRC) didn’t like what he was writing;
- Australian citizen Cheng Lei, who is a presenter on Chinese TV has been arrested on some pretext, as have other Australian citizens Stern Hu, Matthew Ng, Charlotte Chou and Yang Hengjun;
- Two Australian reporters had to evacuate China when their arrests appeared imminent after they were informed by the Chinese in an infamous midnight knock on the door that they were “banned from leaving the country” and,
- A visit by the Czech Senate President to Taiwan was called an “act of treachery” by the PRC which promised that the Czechs would pay “a heavy price”.
All this is on top of a PRC announcement that anyone of Chinese heritage should display primary loyalty to the PRC.
China is also trying to strong-arm Australia by accusing our country of treachery for having the temerity to seek an inquiry into the origins of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
This, as everyone knows, was followed for dubious reasons by sanctions against Australian producers.
Those sanctions directly affect some of our people in Toodyay, including our hard-working farmers, so it is hardly surprising that The Toodyay Herald has previously published letters complaining about Ol’ Blind Joe’s skewed view of the world.
Is China your idea of a friendly nation Mr Hamilton?
If it is then you might want to relocate to that country though I doubt the PRC would allow any ‘alternative thinking’ if you were to pick up a pen there.
Allan Henshaw
Toodyay
