The CCP Threat Is Real - Not Trivial.
This week, every New Zealand MP who is part of the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) received a copy of PILLAR’s Foreign Interference Transparency Bill.
We’re working hard to have this legislation passed. Here’s why this is critically important…
This week New Zealand’s Minister of Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs headed to Australia for high level defence, security and strategy discussions.
In a time of increasing geopolitical instability including in the Pacific, a meeting such as this is NOT symbolic or ceremonial, it is critically substantive and strategic.
In a statement this week, the ministers stated that, “New Zealand and Australia face the most unpredictable and dangerous strategic environment in decades. In the face of this instability, our commitment to work together is as strong as ever ... (in) responding to growing instability in the Indo-Pacific”.
No surprise, much of this comes from the CCP’s activity in our region as we’ve been saying for months.
Following this bilateral meeting, Ministers acknowledged the following:
Rising and concerning military activity in the Pacific.
Urgent need for open communication and practical steps to reduce miscalculation and conflict between China and the US in the Pacific.
Concerns over escalating destabilising actions and unsafe conduct by China in the South China Sea.
Concerns about tension and unsafe conduct in the East China Sea.
The need to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
Serious concerns over human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and the erosion of freedoms in Tibet and Hong Kong.
Friend, in light of China’s growing threat to peace, stability and liberty in our region, PILLAR has been calling for greater geopolitical vigilance for months.
In January we told the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade select committee:
“New Zealand’s democratic institutions depend on transparency, independence, and the freedom of elected representatives to act without foreign pressure. This is also true of our regional allies. Yet mounting evidence shows that foreign actors - most notably the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) - are actively attempting to interfere, intimidate, and coerce political, business, and civil society actors within New Zealand and our sphere of influence - particularly in the Pacific region.”
You can watch the full statement here
The CCP threat is not trivial. It never has been.
If individual life, liberty and rights paramount to a flourishing, liberal and democratic society, we must be willing to stand up to those who wish to undermine it.
PILLAR’s proposed FIT Bill is designed to improve the transparency of certain activities for the protection of democracy, democratic institutions, and civil liberties in New Zealand. This bill will deter covert or deceptive foreign interference in New Zealand.
Friend, PILLAR will be pushing very hard to get this Bill passed and your support will be crucial in this. While we are lobbying these MPs, you too can contact IPAC members and ask them about this bill! You can find them here.
With every statement from our leaders and every new development in our region, it becomes increasingly apparent that the CCP threat is real, and that this is just the start.
So, watch this space with vigilance.
Thank you for standing with us.
