Commentary Will the sponsoring of a hardball game, namely rugby league, help to diminish the influence of hardball diplomacy? That is the question on many Australian lips as their government allegedly considers committing $600 million (US$380 million) to bankroll an 18th National Rugby League (NRL) team in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Rugby league is the national sport of the PNG that captures the imagination, dreams, and spare time of many in the country. To help formalise such a popular sport and incorporate it into Australia’s national professional league will bind the bonds between the two countries. Of that, there is no doubt....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/can-softball-diplomacy-unsettle-beijings-hardball-5520841
Western Australian Premier Roger Cook will embark on his first trip to China as leader of the state in late November. He is the latest Australian Labor leader to visit the region, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travelling to Beijing to meet Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping from Nov. 4. to 7. While in China, Mr. Cook will join “high-level meetings” with Chinese authorities, stakeholders, and industry leaders in both Sichuan and Shanghai. Former Premier Mark McGowan met with Chinese authorities in April 2023, while South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas went to Beijing in September. WA’s Biggest Trading Partner China is the largest trading partner of Western Australia, absorbing 55 percent of exports in the 2023 financial year....
The sudden death of former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Shanghai on the evening of Oct. 27 has raised questions and even some suspicions. The death of the 68-year-old is seen as suspicious by some, especially given his death was officially announced at the same time as that of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) founder and past leader Mao Zedong. CCP officials said that Mr. Li’s death occurred at 00:10 on Oct. 27, which coincides with Mao’s death at 00:10 on Sept. 9, 1976. Subsequently, political analysts have questioned whether the reported coincidence signifies a major political event. But it is unclear whether either man genuinely died at precisely the same hour or if there were discrepancies in the reported time of death and the actual time of death....
The sons of detained Australian-Chinese writer Yang Hengjun have written a heartfelt letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ahead of his trip to Beijing. Mr. Yang, 57, has been in prison for nearly five years after being arrested by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2019 for alleged espionage, which he strongly denies. His family said the risk of their father being left to die from medical neglect is clear to anyone who has read a recent consular report. ‘Return Him Immediately’ Inspired by the recent release of journalist Cheng Lei, Mr. Yang’s sons are pleading with Mr. Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Ambassador Graham Fletcher to achieve a “second miracle” by saving their father....