Beijing Blacklists Two Australian Academics

Charles Sturt University ethics professor Clive Hamilton (R) speaks at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, on Aug. 28, 2019. Richard Szabo/The Epoch Times

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has declared two Australian academics persona non grata and banned them from entering China, despite neither having current travel visas or plans to travel to the country.

Prof. Clive Hamilton from Charles Sturt University and analyst Alex Joske from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) are now prevented from entering China under the Exit and Entry Administration Law, Chinese state media outlet The Global Times reported on Sept. 24.

Hamilton, a professor of public ethics, has published two best-selling books on China: “Silent Invasion: China’s Influence in Australia” and “Hidden Hand: Exposing How the Chinese Communist Party is Reshaping the World.” Both books focus on exposing the Chinese regime’s systematic campaign to exert political influence in Australia and around the world.

Joske, who grew up in China, has published multiple papers on the Chinese regime’s interference in western democracies. His latest paper titled “Hunting the Phoenix” exposed Beijing’s co-opting of academics from around the world to harness technology for China and the Peoples Liberation Army.

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A Chinese paramilitary police officer gestures and speaks over his two-way radio while standing at the entrance gate of the Australian embassy in Beijing on July 9, 2020. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Joske wrote on Twitter: "Chinese state media reports that I have been banned from entering China are the latest in a series of attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to punish those who shine a light on its activities.

“I am proud of my research on the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to interfere in politics and transfer technology from around the world. The accuracy of my research on these topics has never been seriously challenged by the Chinese government.”

Joske also noted that he had decided years ago that the personal risk of travelling to China was too high and he had not held or applied for a visa for years.

Meanwhile, Hamilton wrote: “There goes my travel plans.”

The move by the Chinese regime comes after Australia cancelled the visa of two Chinese academics and four Chinese journalists in an effort to investigate and curb foreign interference.

It also follows the hasty evacuation of Australia’s last two remaining foreign correspondents from China on Sept. 7.

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Bilateral relations with the Chinese regime are shifting as Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his government push back against Beijing’s increasingly belligerent foreign policy initiatives, its disregard for the rules-based global order, and its creeping threat to Australian sovereignty.

Eric Abetz, a Liberal senator, previously told The Epoch Times: “China is starting to realise that not everyone will simply kowtow to their threats, be it geopolitical aggression, foreign interference or economic pressure.”