On Chinese influence in Australia

Clive Hamilton writes: Re.”Clive Hamilton and his (mildly justified) conspiracy theory” (Thursday)

I couldn’t be bothered replying to Bernard Keane’s typically bad-tempered commentary on my book. But let me make one point.

Keane attempts to discredit me as some kind of sloppy Sinophobe with his anecdote about my piece in The Guardian in 2014. He quotes The Guardian‘s editor distancing herself from the article by saying it had factual errors. If Keane had included the full quote from the bottom of the article his readers would have noted that the editor subsequently added info that turns Keane on his head. She wrote:

“That evidence base [Hamilton used] has since changed significantly. The recently released Foreign Investment Review Board annual report 2013-14 contains strong evidence to support the author’s original opinion. The report shows that approved Chinese investment in real estate more than doubled in 2013-14 compared to 2012-13 and was the main driver in China becoming for the first time the largest source of approved foreign investment in Australia.”

It’s also worth pointing out that the initial editorial repudiation of my article came only after a well-organised campaign of pressure from pro-Beijing social media users. The Guardian caved in to political correctness, terrified of being accused of being “anti-China”. That tactic of Beijing is considered at some length in my book.

So the incident Keane uses to open his bagging of me and my book actually demonstrates the opposite of what he intended. I could rub it in, but I won’t.

On Alinta

Mark Freeman writes:  Re. “Government strangely silent on Alinta’s Beijing connections” (Thursday)

Malcolm Turnbull could go lower than begging Alinta to buy Liddell power station. He could ask Adani and offer to lend them the money.