Crikey Worm: The meme tweets of China – Crikey

Good morning, early birds. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying last night knocked back calls for China to apologise over a controversial tweet, and South Australia lifted a series of COVID-19 measures overnight. It's the news you need to know, with Chris Woods.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying last night knocked back calls to apologise over a graphic, photoshopped image shared by spokesperson and deputy director general for the ministrys information department, Zhao Lijian, in response to the Brereton report.

While Scott Morrison called for an apology over the repugnant, falsified image of an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child, the ABC reports that Hua instead called for Australia to apologise to the people of Afghanistan.

Three pieces of context to note as this story presumably continues today:

PS: Morrison also acknowledged that there are undoubtedly tensions between the two countries in a likely reference to China slapping Treasury Wine Estates with a 169% tariff; as Crikey explained yesterday, that measure follows similar, recent examples of Australia deploying anti-dumping laws against China i.e. BlueScopes benefiting from tariffs on steel imports in Australia and the US.

According to 9News, South Australia lifted a series of COVID-19 measures overnight, including reopening the Victorian border, allowing stand-up drinking in pubs, and removal of patron caps on businesses.

The measures come after the state recorded no new cases yesterday, although authorities continue to urge anyone on SAHealths contact tracing list to be tested.

As the ABC explains, the news also comes after SAs chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier apologised to a 30-year-old infected man falsely accused of breaching quarantine; while still potentially contagious at the times he visited local shops, the man was only listed as a close contact of a COVID-19 patient, and had no obligation to remain in quarantine after initially testing negative.

PS: In other COVID-19 news, The Guardian reports that Moderna has announced that final trial results of its vaccine showed 94% efficacy and no severe diseases among participants, meaning the company will now follow Pfizer/BioNTech in seeking emergency approval from international regulators.

According to The Australian ($), the Morrison government is finalising industrial relations reforms that would see employers pay a single, higher rate to retail, hospitality and restaurant workers, and that the Fair Work Commission would be required to approve enterprise agreements within 21 days.

Employer and union sources speaking to the paper after months of roundtable discussions also say the government is proposing to create life of project agreements, where the same wage and conditions apply for the construction lifeline of new major projects worth more than $500 million or projects of lesser value deemed to be of national and/or employment significance.

President-elect Joe Bidens transition team has released a list of seven women for key communications positions, including his long-time communications director Kate Bedingfield taking on the same mantle at the White House.

While the team was keen to emphasise that, for the first time in history, these communications roles will be filled entirely by women, rumoured picks for cabinet positions confirm Bidens commitment to centrist Democrats with conservative histories.

Notably, NPR reports that Biden recently tapped the president of Clinton-aligned think tank the Center for American Progress president, Neera Tanden, as the head of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Tanden, as The Daily Poster explains, is a long time aide to Hillary Clinton who pushed CAPs 2010 proposal to reduce social security benefits in 2012 as Biden advocated for the deficit measures under the Obama administration. Emails leaked between Tanden and Faiz Shakir, a journalist at CAPs media outlet arm, also revealed she advocated for asking Libyans to use oil revenues to pay the US back for bombings in the country.

Additionally, Axios reports that Biden is strongly considering Rahm Emanuel to run the Department of Transportation, despite allegations that the former mayors work to suppress body camera footage of a Chicago cop murdering a Black teenager constituted a cover-up.

Australia has welcomed migrants from China for more than 200 years and Australians of Chinese background have added immensely to our nation.

Alan Tudge

In a day filled with dubious claims and horrific images, at least we have the acting immigration minister publicly forgetting and/or just flat-out forgetting the White Australia policy.

Australias trade agreement with China its not a free trade agreement (FTA), despite Coalition claims to the contrary was borne of Tony Abbotts desperation to appear to have an economic policy.

Having been elected on the basis of all the things hed stop boats, climate action, deficits he turned to free trade agreements with a number of regional countries as a facade of a positive economic policy.

The hypocrite of the year award is heating up with a tight race between billionaires Bruce Gordon and Andrew Twiggy Forrest, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, and the entire Chinese and Russian governments.

Lets take a look at the nominees.

Australias popular media particularly television has been a willing follower of the Liberal governments long campaign to Americanise Australian attitudes to the military. Theres been a deliberate PR strategy to turn the Australian military in part into a secular saint of Australian values and in part a tool to provide an apolitical shield for the governments most political acts.

A Defence chopper sparked Canberras Namadgi bushfire, but its crew didnt tell authorities the location for 45 minutes

Rent still too costly for Aussies on Newstart, despite JobSeeker payments

Bushfires toll on platypuses prompts protection alarm call

Morrison governments updated Covidsafe app unlikely to improve results, experts say

LNP brass facing a grassroots revolt after Queensland election flop ($)

Victorias hotel quarantine system to resume under a new agency run by Corrections Commissioner Emma Cassar

Disgraceful Gobbo condemned but may be out of reach of justice

Australian coal exports face perfect storm as China restrictions hit

Three-quarters of Australians back target of net zero by 2030, Guardian Essential poll shows

AACTA awards 2020: Cate Blanchetts Stateless and Shannon Murphys Babyteeth win big

Honour your climate commitments, Australia, signed your Pacific neighbours Anote Tong (The Sydney Morning Herald): On December 12, 2020, leaders from across the world will gather virtually for the annual United Nations Climate Ambition Summit. While the coronavirus pandemic has meant much has changed in the last few months, Pacific demands for action on climate change have not. Indeed, climate change remains the single most pressing security threat to our Blue Pacific region.

Cold War lessons for countering Chinese threat ($) Paul Dibb (The Australian): It has become fashionable to claim the Cold War was nowhere near as dangerous as the situation we face with China. It is true that todays China poses a much more multifaceted economic and domestic political challenge to Australia than the Soviet Union did. However, it is not true that we are in a second cold war with a military threat from China comparable to that of the Soviet Union.

Mark Lathams bill seeks to ensure trans and queer children remain in the closet Liz Duck-Chong (The Guardian): The research on this is clear gender diverse young people exist, and their genders are not able to be suppressed, converted or reprogrammed. They struggle when their identities and lives are disparaged or not taken seriously, and flourish when they are affirmed and respected. However, the true danger of a bill like this is not in its dismissal of the science, but how it positions its concept of core values and parental primacy as neutral, instead of what they really are: ideological.

Canberra

Australian of the Year 2020 James Muecke will present Silent no more at the National Press Club.

Jennifer Robinson, a barrister, and a member of the legal team acting for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks since 2010, and Peter Cronau an investigative journalist, Four Corners producer, and co-editor of new book A Secret Australia,will discuss the anthology and WikiLeaks impact in Australia Institute webinar Webinar: A Secret Australia Revealed By Wikileaks Exposs.

Melbourne

Budget estimates will begin for the 2020/21 Victorian budget, while the Parliament of Victorias Public Accounts and Estimates Committee will hold its third round of hearings for the COVID-19 inquiry.

This extraordinary year is almost at an end. But we know that time waits for no one, and we wont either. This is the time to get on board with Crikey.

For a limited time only, choose what you pay for a year of Crikey.

Save up to 50% or dig deeper so we can dig deeper.

See you in 2021.

Peter FrayEditor-in-chief of Crikey

See the article here:

Crikey Worm: The meme tweets of China - Crikey