September 17, 2022
Washington: Australia’s foreign interference laws will form part of a broader global strategy to counter the threat of China after politicians from around the world endorsed the idea in Washington along with a suite of measures to safeguard countries from Beijing’s economic coercion.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met in Uzbekistan to solidify their partnership this week, an alliance of parliamentarians from almost 30countries signed off on a new blueprint to help democracies resist intimidation from the Asian superpower.
The communique´ from the Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China – a bipartisan group of legislators that includes Australia among its members –calls for greater deterrence measures to protect Taiwan against military action from Beijing, including the use of ‘‘meaningful’’ sanctions.
The group also vowed to increase the number of parliamentary visits to Taiwan, one month after the US Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged Beijing by visiting the island nation, and to push for possible travel bans and the freezing of assets against Chinese officials engaging in human rights abuses.
Australia’s foreign interference laws, which make it a crime to influence a political or government process in away that is covert or involves deception, were also highlighted in the blueprint, which was developed by 60 parliamentarians from countries including the US, Britain, Uganda, Lithuania and Fiji.
The communique´ says: ‘‘Through the activities of [China’s] United Front Work Department and the Ministry of State Security, the [People’s Republic of China] is co-ordinating a global push to gain influence and conduct interference in our democratic processes and institutions.’’
The United Front Work Department is one of the main organisations the Chinese Communist Party uses to spy on and influence individuals and organisations inside and outside China.
‘‘IPAC calls on our governments to act to protect the freedom and integrity of our democratic life, including putting in place regulations which require agents lobbying on behalf of foreign states to declare their work, as modelled in Australian legislation, in order to guard against covert or illegitimate political influence.’’
Foreign interference was criminalised in Australia in 2018. Former Liberal candidate Duong Di Sanh recently became the first person charged with such an offence.
In July, the 67-year-old was committed to stand trial in the Victorian County Court. Prosecutors allege he made a $37,000 donation to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 2020 as a way to interfere with former federal minister Alan Tudge on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Australian senator James Paterson, who attended the summit in Washington this week with fellow Liberal MP Andrew Hastie and Labor parliamentarians Peter Khalil and Deborah O’Neill, said there was a ‘‘surprisingly high level of awareness’’ of Australia’s foreign interference laws and that numerous countries, particularly in Europe, were ‘‘watching with interest’’. He said the IPAC blueprint, while not binding on governments, ‘‘sets out a clear pathway to help democracies resist coercion and intimidation from Beijing’’.
IPAC was formed in 2020 as a bipartisan group to tackle the challenges posed by the threat of Beijing.
But the alliance has taken on greater significance in recent times, as nations have become increasingly concerned about authoritarian China’s rise, its human rights violations against the Uyghur people, and its encroachment in the Indo-Pacific.
