Planned celebrations in Australia for the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are raising the ire of human rights activists and members of the Chinese community, but a former Chinese diplomat says it will not stop the Chinese regime from its propaganda campaign.
The event, planned and funded by a local council in southern Sydney, has been renamed following concern from council members and the local community.
Hurstville City Council announced at its council meeting last month that they had been approached by the Chinese Consulate in Sydney to jointly host a “New China Film Festival” during September and October.
Hurstville has the largest Chinese population in Australia, with over 40 per cent of the residents being of Chinese descent.
“This event will be part of wider celebrations hosted by the Chinese Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Sydney to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the opening up of the People’s Republic of China,” the Council minutes stated.
The event was approved and included agreement to a Chinese Consulate request for funds for a $5000 cocktail party for 100 official guests.
“The total cost to Council therefore would be approximately $8400.00,” the minutes stated.
Former Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin said the event was part of a propaganda strategy to influence the Chinese diaspora and to extend the Chinese Communist Party’s network in the Australian community.
“Chinese people come here to be free of propaganda, free of brainwashing and now Hurstville Council is bringing [them] back to the Chinese Communist Party,” he told The Epoch Times.
Mr. Chen, who defected from the Sydney Chinese Consulate in 2005, said there was nothing “new” about the “New Chinese Film Festival,” as it would have the usual censorship and propaganda targeting the local Chinese community.
“The Hurstville Council is spending tax payers’ money to assist CCP propaganda,” he said. “It won’t benefit Australian residents – only hurt peoples’ spiritually, hurt the Chinese community.”
Strong reaction
The announcement and use of rate payer’s money drew a strong reaction from the community and local councillors, resulting in a backdown from the council, who then remarketed the event as a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Chinese Republic’s opening up to the Western world.
Labor Councillor David Perry said he was concerned about human rights in China and particularly the welfare of Australian citizen Stern Hu. He requested at the July meeting that a message be sent back to the Chinese Consulate expressing that concern. The council, however, resolved only to send a letter to the prime minister and foreign minister voicing their concerns about Mr. Hu, but refrained from sending a letter to the Chinese Consulate.
Green’s Councillor Ann Wagstaff said she was not only concerned about China’s human rights record, but also that rate payers funds were being used to fund a function for the Chinese Communist Party when there were so many pressing needs in the community.
Brian Shaw, president of the City Hurstville Residents Association, said that with the Cultural Revolution, and more recently oppressions like that happening to the Tibetan and Uyghur people, there was little to celebrate.
“Hurstville councillor’s servile deference [kowtowing] to the consul-general of China is farcical,” he wrote in the local newspaper The Leader.
Nationally
While other 60th anniversary celebrations have been planned around Australia, the marketing campaigns for the Chinese and the Western audiences now appear to be quite different.
Next month, the China Oriental Jasmine Girl’s Band will be playing at the Sydney Opera House and it has been heavily advertised in Chinese as a 60th anniversary celebration. However, on the Sydney Opera House website it is described simply as a “spectacular and glamorous concert performance” that showcases “a unique fusion of Chinese folk and modern Western musical instruments”.
