In a move that has depicted Australia’s new-found policy to tackle the allegations of Chinese subversion and espionage that had been festering within the political ranks, the Australian intelligence officers and police raided the home and office of Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane.
The New South Wales legislator has long been under the scanner from the opposition and his party for having alleged ties to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Moselmane has been particularly in awe of the Chinese President Xi Jinping. He has publicly praised Xi Jinping’s “unswerving” leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, contrasting it favorably with Australia’s own response.
“For the Peoples Republic of China, President Xi stepped up and provided that leadership. He mustered the resources of the nation and together with the great people of China – fought it and contained it,” Moselmane had written for one of his personal websites.
In 2018, Moselmane gave a speech suggesting a “new world order” would be needed if China was to fulfill its potential.
The local media of New South Wales has reported that Moselmane had even hired a staffer who had been trained at Beijing’s ‘Chinese Academy of Governance’.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) confirmed that “search warrant activity is occurring in Sydney as part of an ongoing investigation”
Labor Party leader washes hands from Moselmane
Jody McKay, the New South Wales Labor Party leader informed the media that she had begun the process of suspending Moselman’s membership in the party.
“It’s dreadfully concerning. It’s important that every MP focuses on the people in their state.” said Jody McKay.
At a time when Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the likes of Foreign Minister Marisa Payne are waging a lone battle against Chinese in the backdrop of Coronavirus pandemic–MP’s like Moselman are openly behaving as the member of Politburo.
Another Labor MP and the shadow Agricultural Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon had also toed Beijing’s line and called to stop offending the Chinese.
“(Australia) didn’t need to be out there in front, offending the Chinese, and if we hadn’t done that, we might not be having some of the diplomatic relationship troubles we’re having at the moment,” said Joel.
Trade War between Canberra and Beijing
The Trade-war between Australia and China has been getting nastier by the day. As a result, the bilateral relations have taken a dip too. China has been visibly surprised as its aggressive maneuvers to pin down Australia have back-fired.
To counter China, Australia has already started diversifying its products to countries like India. The June 4 summit between Morrison and Modi also opened up new maritime deals that will go a long way in tackling the dragon’s influence.
Australia has even changed its foreign investment rules which gives greater approval powers to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to curtail opportunistic takeovers of struggling businesses by Chinese amid increasing national security risk.
China and its policy to infiltrate foreign country’s institutions
TFIPOST has reported time and again that one of the slyest Chinese tactics to win influence in a foreign country is to buy off the big journalistic institutions, the political legislators, opening propagandist Confucius schools and in case of Australia using Diagous too.
MP’s like Joel and Moselmane are disguised Chinese operatives that have been planted by Beijing to ‘take over’ Canberra’s political system with an intricate system of espionage and surveillance.
Australian government knows it has to act fast as Beijing is looking to move to its plan-B. The plan revolves around changing the public perception of Australians by using the likes of Moselmane to set a narrative that Canberra was unnecessary creating a rift between the two nations.
Shaoquett Moselmane might be the first of the many moles to be hammered with several still out in the open. Therefore the Australian government needs to carry on with this attitude and bring out the CCP agents masquerading as politicians out in the open.