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Australia Dismisses Beijing’s Claim it ‘Playing With Fire’ for Taiwan Visit

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Australian politicians have dismissed Beijing’s claims it is “playing with fire” and undermining efforts to repair Australia-China relations after a delegation of six bipartisan MPs arrived in Taiwan.

The Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published an opinion article saying the visit will “cast a shadow” on Australia’s improving relationship with China and shows support for “Taiwan independence.”

The six backbenchers, including former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, Labor’s Meryl Swanson and Libby Coker, and the Coalition’s Scott Buchholz, Terry Young, and Gavin Pearce, arrived in Taiwan on Dec. 5.

They met Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-Chung for talks expected to cover Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agree­ment for trans-­Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), one of the world’s biggest trading blocs.

Joseph Wu
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu speaks after receiving the Silver Commemorative Medal of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic in Prague on Oct. 27, 2021. (David W Cerny/Reuters)

With support from Taiwan’s foreign ministry, the Australian delegation will also meet President Tsai Ing-wen and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu during the itinerary.

The visit is Australia’s first parliamentary delegation to Taiwan since 2019 and follows Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s breakthrough meeting with Xi Jinping at the sidelines of G20 in Bali last month.

“Those who play with fire will perish by it,” reads the Global Times op-ed accusing the delegation of increasing tensions with Taiwan generating “negative impacts on the China-Australia relationship.”

‘We want to be Both Close to Mainland China and Taiwan’

Barnaby Joyce denied that the trip was ill-timed and dismissed the MPs were there to “antagonize” Beijing.

“We want to make sure that we are both close to mainland China and also close to Taiwan,” the Nationals MP told Sky News.  “We have a strong economic reason to be close to the island of Taiwan, and we want to make sure that we maintain that connection.”

“I don’t think there is anything at all. I don’t think people could read it any other way unless they chose to. Then it becomes a question for them,” Joyce said.

Epoch Times Photo
Nationals Party MP Barnaby Joyce addresses the crowd at the Liberal Party election campaign launch in Brisbane, Australia on May 15, 2022 (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Opposition senator Simon Birmingham said the visit was simply “business as usual.”

“These sorts of delegation visits are not at all uncommon. This is really the resumption of normal practice following the shutdown during the Covid period,” he told ABC Radio.

“It is essential to understand better Australia’s relations, particularly in this case economic ties, with an economy like Taiwan.”

Birmingham also dismissed The Global Times saying it was not known for its moderate commentary.

Epoch Times Photo
Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham during a senate estimates hearing at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 17, 2022. (Screenshot by The Epoch Times)

Taiwanese Scholar Calls on Australia to Stick to Values

Dr. David Yeau-Tarn Lee, a professor at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies of National Chengchi University in Taiwan, welcomed the visit of the Australian delegation.

“The visit of Australian MPs to Taiwan represents the solid, diversified, and mutually beneficial partnership between Australia and Taiwan, which are both liberal and democratic countries,” Lee told The Epoch Times on Dec.5. “This relationship is a necessary interaction within the framework of the global Alliance of liberal democracies that the United States has initiated.”

“The MPs came to Taiwan to discuss trade, agriculture, indigenous peoples, and national defence and security. They did not violate the ‘One-China’ policy advocated by the U.S. government, nor did they undermine the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.”

Lee said that the CCP, which itself establishes diplomatic relations with both North and South Korea, has no ground to accuse democratic countries’ lawmakers of visiting Taiwan.

“[The Global Times’ editorial] demonstrates the CCP’s ambition to nibble away and annex Taiwan. Free and democratic countries cannot easily let the CCP have its way.”

The professor called on the Australian lawmakers to insist on their decision to visit Taiwan.

“As the most important country in the South Pacific, the Australian government is expected to firmly defend and adhere to its basic principles,” he said.

“[We’re] not to provoke the CCP, but we must not allow the CCP to use trade and business interests to tie us up.”

Prime Minister Plays Down the Visit

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has played down the importance of the visit.

“This isn’t a government visit,” he told reporters on Dec. 3. “There remains a bipartisan position when it comes to China and when it comes to support for the status quo on Taiwan.”

Asked about the purpose of the trip, Albanese replied: “I have no idea. I’m not going. You should ask them.”

Epoch Times Photo
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets China’s President Xi Jinping in a bilateral meeting during the 2022 G20 summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Australia, on Nov. 15, 2022. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

However, the Global Times criticised Albanese for failing to stop the visit and playing “a game of words” only.

Australia only maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy of 23 million people that has long been regarded as a renegade province by the CCP.

Cindy Zhan

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Cindy Zhan is a reporter based in Australia. She covers national news with a focus on China-related issues. Got a tip? Contact her at cindy.zhan@epochtimes.com.au



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