• New Zealand’s likely next prime minister signals openness to China
• Foreign nationals detained in China
• Reporting on China | Podcasts
• Australian journalist Cheng Lei back home after China release
• Australian journalist, detained in China for three years, arrives home
• [World] Australian Cheng Lei freed from China detention
• US navy sailor pleads guilty to accepting $15,000 in bribes from China
• White House condemns car-ramming incident at Chinese consulate in San Francisco

New Zealand’s likely next prime minister signals openness to China

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/11/new-zealand-christopher-luxon-national-party-china/2023-10-02T22:50:55.190Z

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — As an ambitious executive in Chicago, Christopher Luxon marketed deodorant to American men with a Super Bowl spot that mocked “wusses” and “mama’s boys.”

A decade later, as the boss of Air New Zealand, he aimed to crack the Chinese market with cheap flights, easier visas and a reality TV show.

On Saturday, if the polls are accurate, the businessman-turned-politician will lead the center-right National Party to win the largest share of the vote in New Zealand’s election. Although he will need to form a coalition to govern, a process that could take weeks, he will be in pole position to be the country’s next prime minister.

On the campaign trail, the 53-year-old has been coy about his foreign policy. But in office, there will be no escaping the tension between the nation where he once lived and the country he spent more than a decade courting.

As Washington and Beijing increasingly vie for influence in the Asia-Pacific, it is becoming harder for nations in the region to ignore the contest. Both superpowers have been leaning on New Zealand to take more of a stand.

Under the current center-left Labour government, New Zealand has slightly hardened its line on China, expressing concern over Beijing’s increasing military strength in the region and condemning alleged Chinese interference in New Zealand’s domestic affairs.

But Luxon could soften that stance by returning to a more business-first approach with Beijing, some close to him say. And that could increase pressure from traditional partners in the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network, where New Zealand has at times come under criticism.

Luxon declined an interview request, citing his tight schedule in the days leading up to the Oct. 14 election. But when asked about China at a news conference this week, the National Party leader told The Washington Post he would not alter New Zealand’s relations with its biggest trading partner.

“On foreign policy the Labour government and National government are very aligned,” he said, saying both parties stood up for national sovereignty and rule of law. “We raise our concerns with China in particular when we need to in private and publicly we do so in a consistent manner. But we also have commercial relations with China and will continue to develop those, too.”

At the same time, Luxon appeared to admit that China had changed in the decade since he began boosting travel between the two countries as the head of Air New Zealand.

“I acknowledge that geopolitics across the world have changed, particularly in our region,” he said. “It’s more contested, it’s more competitive and we need to navigate it differently. But the principles and values by which we do our foreign policy remain the same.”

That it’s taken until a few days before the election for Luxon to expound on his China approach reflects the nonexistent role foreign policy has played in the campaign.

Instead, Luxon has been hammering Prime Minister Chris Hipkins — who assumed office when Jacinda Ardern stepped down in January — on crime and the economy.

When the outside world is mentioned, it’s usually in terms of trade, not foreign policy.

“We are a little bit protected by our remoteness,” said Brigitte Morten, a political commentator and National Party insider.

After university, Luxon joined multinational corporation Unilever’s operations in Wellington. By 2003, he had become one of the company’s top executives for North America. He lived in Chicago for five years and gained a reputation as a risk-taker with the snarky Super Bowl 2005 ad for Degree deodorant.

His strategy for Air New Zealand was less controversial. With China’s economy booming, Luxon — who took over as CEO in 2012, four years after New Zealand struck a free trade deal with China — sought to boost travel to and from the rising power.

“There was very much a feeling that if China was embraced, then it would become ‘more like us’ and that was a positive thing,” said John Key, New Zealand’s prime minister at the time, who is now Luxon’s political mentor.

Luxon joined Key on a 2013 trade delegation to Shanghai and announced the easing of visa restrictions for visitors from China. But he also continued to pursue more unorthodox ideas, like the reality TV show. Travel between the two nations — and the airline’s bottom line — soared.

Over the past five years, however, the United States and many of its allies have taken a dimmer view of China as its military has acted with increasing assertiveness, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2021, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom unveiled AUKUS, a partnership to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines that is widely seen as a reaction to Beijing’s military buildup.

Ardern gradually hardened her rhetoric toward China as Beijing became, in her words, “more assertive.”

Key disagrees with that characterization, insisting that China hasn’t changed. He believes Luxon will take a similarly business-first approach.

“He’s a very, very commercial guy,” Key said, noting that New Zealand’s economy is struggling. “If Chris Luxon becomes prime minister, he will be very conscious of the trading relationship we have” with China.

But Luxon would likely face pressure from Five Eyes partners to toughen rhetoric toward China, as Key said he did toward the end of his eight years in office as China’s claims to the South China Sea became more aggressive.

Resisting allies’ calls for harsher rhetoric toward China might be beneficial, however, not only for New Zealand but also for the region and the world, said Beth Greener, professor of international relations at Massey University.

With Australia increasingly adopting Washington’s hard line on China, Greener said there is an increasing need for a nation like New Zealand to be publicly neutral but privately advocate for the rules-based order.

New Zealand’s bind: Balancing Western security against Chinese trade

“New Zealand becoming a small Australia — that’s not a very good ‘value add’ for anybody,” she said.

Greener said she would expect a Luxon government to strike a balance, but with more of a focus on trade with Beijing. China is by far New Zealand’s largest trading partner, buying key commodities including dairy, meat and wood products.

A few weeks ago, Luxon drew criticism for saying he would “absolutely” welcome Chinese government “Belt and Road” investment in his proposed $15 billion infrastructure program — a proposal out of step with attitudes in Washington and Canberra. He has also proposed relaxing New Zealand’s ban on foreign home-buying.

But the degree to which he can smooth business ties between the two countries also hinges on the outcome of Saturday’s election, which is based on a proportional representation system.

National will almost certainly need the support of the libertarian ACT Party, which has taken a more strident stance toward China. It may also need to partner with New Zealand First, a populist party led by Winston Peters. Peters has twice served as foreign minister — a position he could again pursue — and launched New Zealand’s “Pacific Reset” policy in 2018 to charm countries in the region as a response to China’s increased presence.

Asked on the campaign trail this week about his recent comment that he would be “open” to exploring joining AUKUS’s second pillar — the sharing of advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and hypersonics — Luxon revealed a flash of anger.

“Pillar two is undefined,” he said. “Nobody knows what the hell it actually means and until we have clarity on that, under both governments, that’s our combined position,” he added, referring to the existing New Zealand administration and the government he is likely to form.

National foreign policy spokesman Gerry Brownlee, a former foreign minister, was more forthcoming, saying the United States’ rhetoric on China wasn’t effective.

“I’m very skeptical about the hand-wringing, alarm-bell-ringing stuff that has no particular action attached to it to try to defeat some of the worst predictions that people ought to make,” he said.

Brownlee said American and Australian objections to China’s growing presence in the Pacific were hypocritical, given that Beijing was offering small island nations more immediate and concrete assistance. Asked how a Luxon government foreign policy would differ from the current Labour administration, Brownlee also pointed to a renewed focus on trade, including China.

“Over the last 15 years they’ve become substantially our major trading partners,” he said. “So we’re not in a position economically to put it at risk.”

Foreign nationals detained in China

https://reuters.com/article/australia-china-cheng-detainees/factbox-foreign-nationals-detained-in-china-idUSKBN31B0MD

Australian journalist Cheng Lei returned home on Wednesday after being detained by Chinese authorities for more than three years on national security charges.

Here are some other high-profile cases of foreign nationals detained in China:

The Australian writer has been detained in China for more than three years, and in 2021 was tried in Beijing on undisclosed national security charges. His arrest coincided with worsening relations between Australia and China and a verdict in his case has been repeatedly delayed.

Yang, who was born in China but is an Australian citizen, has denied working as a spy for Australia or the United States.

Friends of the pro-democracy blogger say they fear for his deteriorating health in detention.

A Japanese employee of Astellas Pharma Inc, who has not been identified publicly, was detained in Beijing in March on suspicion of espionage, sending a chill through the Japanese business community in China.

The man in his 50s worked in China for more than 20 years and is an executive, according to Japanese media reports. Beijing was expected to decide soon on whether to formally arrest the businessman, Kyodo reported last month.

The Chinese foreign ministry, when asked last month if the Japanese employee had been arrested, said foreign nationals in China must abide by the country's laws or be prosecuted otherwise.

Japan's government has said it would continue to strongly demand his release.

A Canadian citizen arrested in China in 2014 for suspected drug smuggling and convicted in 2018. He was initially sentenced to 15 years in jail but subsequently condemned to death by a court in January 2019 - a month after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on a warrant from the United States.

His death penalty was upheld by a Chinese court in 2021. Canada has strongly condemned the decision to uphold the death sentence.

The Texas-based businessman was convicted by a Chinese court on drug-related charges and in 2019 was given a death sentence with reprieve. A United Nations working group has concluded he was arbitrarily detained in violation of international law.

He has been imprisoned for more than 10 years, according to his mother, Katherine Swidan.

Li, who is Chinese-American, has been detained in China since 2016. A court handed him a 10-year jail sentence in 2018 on espionage charges, which he denies, his son, Harrison Li, told Reuters.

Reporting on China | Podcasts

https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2023/10/10/reporting-on-china

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Australian journalist Cheng Lei back home after China release

https://reuters.com/article/australia-china/australian-journalist-cheng-lei-back-home-after-china-release-idUSKBN31B0C3

Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who had been detained on national security charges in Beijing for more than three years, returned home on Wednesday after being released, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

Cheng, who was tried in secret in March 2022, arrived in Melbourne and has been reunited with her two children and family, Albanese told a press conference.

"(The) government has been seeking this for a long period of time and her return will be warmly welcomed not just by her family and friends but by all Australians," he said.

Her release follows the completion of legal processes in China, he said. There was no immediate comment from the judiciary in China.

Cheng, 48, was a business television anchor for Chinese state television when she was detained in August 2020 for allegedly sharing state secrets with another country.

Australia had repeatedly raised concerns about her detention, which came as China widened blocks on Australian exports amid a diplomatic dispute that is gradually easing.

"She is a very strong and resilient person," said Albanese, who said he has spoken to Cheng.

In a letter to Australia released publicly in August, Cheng wrote of missing her children aged 11 and 14, who have been living in Melbourne with their grandmother while she was detained.

"In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year," she wrote in what she called a "love letter to 25 million people", her first public statement since her arrest.

"I haven't seen a tree in three years. I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets. I secretly mouth the names of places I've visited and driven through."

Albanese said Australia "continued to advocate" for another detained Australian journalist, Yang Hengjun, who has been held since January 2019.

Albanese said he expected to visit China this year and told reporters dialogue with China was "a good thing".

There had been public pressure on Albanese to secure Cheng's release before any official visit to Australia's biggest trading partner.

Related Galleries:

Australian journalist, detained in China for three years, arrives home

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/11/australia-china-journalist-cheng-lei-freed/2023-10-11T05:34:00.339Z

SYDNEY — Australian journalist Cheng Lei has returned home after three years of detention in China, the Australian government announced Wednesday.

Cheng was detained during an extraordinarily turbulent period in China-Australia relations under a conservative government, and has now been released as the current center-left leadership tries to repair ties with its biggest trading partner.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday that Cheng was met at the airport in Melbourne by Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

“Her return brings an end to a very difficult few years for her family,” Albanese told reporters. “The government has been seeking this for a long period of time and her return will be warmly welcomed not just by her family and friends but by all Australians.”

Cheng was a high-profile anchor covering business and politics for CGTN, the English-language state broadcaster owned by China Central Television, which presents China’s case favorably.

She was detained in August 2020 and was formally arrested six months later, charged with supplying state secrets overseas.

Cheng’s arrest came a day after Australia called for a United Nations investigation into allegations of widespread sexual abuse in Chinese detention centers in the Xinjiang region, angering Beijing.

In 2020, Australia under then-prime minister Scott Morrison led calls for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, drawing Chinese retaliation in the form of steep tariffs on imports of Australian barley, beef, wine and other goods.

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[World] Australian Cheng Lei freed from China detention

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-67074992?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

US navy sailor pleads guilty to accepting $15,000 in bribes from China

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/10/us-navy-military-china-bribe-plea

A US navy sailor pleaded guilty on Tuesday to accepting nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for photographs of unclassified private US military information, according to court papers.

Petty Officer Wenheng “Thomas” Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and receiving a bribe, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court in Los Angeles.

Zhao admitted sending his Chinese handler plans for US military exercises in the Indo-Pacific region, operational orders and electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system on a US military base in Okinawa, Japan, according to court documents and US officials. He was arrested in August.

Another navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, was also arrested in August on similar charges in a separate case. Wei, 22, who was assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex, was arrested on a charge related to espionage involving a conspiracy to send national defense information to Chinese officials.

Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura county in California, faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the charges, but a judge will determine his final sentence.

A lawyer representing Zhao did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US attorney Martin Estrada of the central district of California said Zhao had “betrayed his country and the men and women of the US navy by accepting bribes from a foreign adversary”.

The US has accused China of an extensive campaign of espionage and cyber-attacks, a charge that Beijing has rejected.

Speaking of both arrests in August, Matthew G Olsen, the assistant attorney general of the justice department’s national security division, said: “These individuals stand accused of violating the commitments they made to protect the United States and betraying the public trust, to the benefit of the [Chinese] government.”

Because of their actions, “sensitive military info ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China”, Olsen said.

White House condemns car-ramming incident at Chinese consulate in San Francisco

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/10/white-house-car-rammed-chinese-consulate-san-francisco

The White House has denounced the violent incident at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco that began with a car crashing into the building and ended with police shooting the driver, who later died at a hospital.

“We condemn this incident and all violence perpetrated against foreign diplomatic staff working in the United States,” Adrienne Watson, White House National Security Council spokeswoman, to the Associated Press.

As of Tuesday, there was still little known about what led to the crash or who the driver was. A White House spokesperson who spoke to the Associated Press anonymously said officials said they think the driver was “acting with malign intent”.

On Monday afternoon, police flooded the area surrounding the consulate after a Honda sedan was seen crashed into the visa office.

“When officers arrived here on scene, they found the vehicle had come to rest inside the lobby of the Chinese consulate,” Sergeant Kathryn Winters, the San Francisco police department spokesperson, told reporters at a news briefing.

She said officers entered the building where the driver was shot by police. “The suspect was later pronounced deceased at the hospital,” Winters said.

A witness who was inside the consulate told KTVU-TV, the Bay Area’s Fox affiliate, that the man drove right through the front of the building, got out of the car bloodied and holding knives. He then began arguing with security guards who tried to detain the driver before he ran out of the building through the damaged doorway.

“I heard a really loud bang. I thought it was gunshots. I looked to the left and there was smoke,” said Tony Xin. “I turned back and saw the guy take out a crossbow.”

Xin said less than a minute after the driver got out of the car, five police officers arrived, initially with their guns drawn, and rushed into the building.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called for an investigation at a daily briefing Tuesday without giving any details about damage to the consulate or injuries to staff and visitors.

“We strongly urge the US to launch a swift investigation and take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese diplomatic missions and personnel there in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Wang said, referring to the 1961 agreement governing relations between countries.

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