DOCSLIB.ORG

Pānui October 2010

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Pānui October 2010 October/ Whiringa-ā-Nuku 2010 A PUBLICATION OF THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS First in the world In 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world where women could vote in national elections. It is one of the events when we could clearly say ‘we led the world’. he Ministry of Women’s Affairs believes we have begun to get the petition back out we should all celebrate Suffrage Day to people, asking ‘was great grandma or Tmore than we do. This year we began great granddad a suffragist?’ a campaign – including display panels, posters, and badges – which we plan to The petition looks just as it did when build on in future years. Kate Sheppard rolled it up in 1893 and just as it was before John Hall MP rolled The 1893 Suffrage petition was signed by it down the central aisle of the House of 32,000 people throughout New Zealand Representatives, making quite a thud and nearly 24,000 of those signatures when it hit the end wall of the debating remain on a copy held in Wellington. It was chamber. Within months the all-male the largest petition our young nation had parliament had granted women the vote, ever seen, and represented the efforts of a making New Zealand a world leader. truly mass movement, which drew support from right across society. Māori women were strongly involved in the suffrage struggle. That is another The original of the petition sits in Wellington part of the story that needs to be better at Archives New Zealand, in the same area that houses the Treaty of Waitangi. This year, CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Celebrating Suffrage Day: L to R: Elizabeth Bang, National President, NCW; Nicki Crauford, Chief Executive, Institute of Directors; Hon Pansy Wong; Barbara Wilkinson, Chief Executive, PaMPITO; Hon Judith Collins, Minister of Police. This issue is a little later than usual so we could include Suffrage Day activity. Day include Suffrage could than usual so we issue is a little later This TE MANA WĀHINE HEI ARA WHAKATIPU | RECOGNITION OF WOMEN’S MANA IS THE PATHWAY TO EQUALITY 1 FROM THE MINISTER CEDAW Defining moment update in our history In the June Pānui, we advised that work was well underway on New Zealand’s seventh periodic report On 19 September 1893, New Zealand to the United Nations Convention women were the first in the world to on the Elimination of All Forms win the right to vote. of Discrimination against Women This moment in history defines us as (CEDAW) – our four-yearly report a nation and is a great source of pride. card on the status of women. When the bill allowing women to vote MWA hosted a ‘special’ meeting of was passed into law, leading suffragist the women’s caucus on international Kate Sheppard wrote: issues to seek feedback on the ‘The General Elections have come and report. The feedback was very useful gone. For the first time the women of and helped us identify areas where New Zealand have joined with men in we could make the report more choosing members of Parliament, and comprehensive. The final report we have waited with bated breath for will go before Cabinet around late the deluge of calamities which it was October, before we submit it to prognosticated would follow the admission CEDAW. of women into the political arena’. Hon Pansy Wong. NGOs can also present independent reports to the CEDAW Committee, Meri Te Tai Mangakahia was recorded often referred to as shadow reports. as being the first woman to address the Women still earn Shadow reports are currently being Māori Parliament. She along with other less than men – even prepared by the National Council of Māori women played a significant role in when their jobs and Women of New Zealand (on behalf the battle for women’s rights. To celebrate of a number of NGO groups); the their role and mark Suffrage Day, a new qualifications are Māori Women’s Welfare League; the web resource was launched at an event similar. Abortion Law Reform Association of held in Auckland. It can be viewed on the New Zealand, and Pacific Women’s Ministry’s website www.mwa.govt.nz. New Zealand women also have high levels Watch Inc. Reports can be submitted We also held events in Christchurch of engagement and success in education prior to or when the New Zealand and Wellington to mark Suffrage Day – and employment. For example, in 2008, Government presents its report, likely a significant part of New Zealand’s women accounted for 55 percent of to be in late 2011. The Government history and a part which showed our students enrolled in tertiary education and, will also update the Committee at this nation to be fair minded and progressive. of those who started a tertiary qualification time on progress since the CEDAW Yet, despite this magnificent achievement, in 2001, 61 percent of domestic students report was submitted. as a nation we did little to celebrate it. who completed their qualification by the More information about NGO I am determined to bring about enduring end of 2008 were women. participation at CEDAW sessions changes that will see Suffrage Day is available at www.un.org/ celebrations take their rightful place But, there are still challenges. Women’s skills are underused in leadership across womenwatch/daw/ngo/cedawngo and become part of our national pride. the economy; women still earn less It would be interesting to hear what Kate than men – even when their jobs and and Meri would have to say if they were qualifications are similar; and violence here today. Our seventh periodic report within families continues to be a cause to the United Nations Convention on the of national concern. In the same spirit Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination as Kate and Meri, we must continue to against Women (CEDAW) would tell them work hard to overcome these challenges. that New Zealand women, by international Hon Pansy Wong standards, are doing well. We regularly rate in the top half dozen countries in the world for equality between men and women – for instance, in the 2009 Global Gender Gap Report, out of 115 countries surveyed, we were fifth, behind the Scandinavian countries. MINISTER OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS The seventh periodic report to CEDAW will go before Cabinet around late October. TE MANA WĀHINE HEI ARA WHAKATIPU | RECOGNITION OF WOMEN’S MANA IS THE PATHWAY TO EQUALITY 2 known, so we have created a new web In Auckland on 13 September, the Minister Institute of Directors in New Zealand; resource that tells the story of Māori of Women’s Affairs, Hon Pansy Wong, Barbara Wilkinson, Chief Executive of the women and the vote. hosted an event to launch our new web Plastics and Materials Processing Industry resource and to celebrate Māori women Training Organisation; and Elizabeth Bang, The information in these pages is taken in governance: their role in the suffrage National President of the National Council from Māori Women and The Vote by Tania movement and in the 21st century. of Women. Rei (now Tania Rangiheuea) published by Huia Publishers in 1993 as part of the In Christchurch, the Ministry partnered celebrations for the centennial of It is one of the events when with the Christchurch City Council to hold a women’s suffrage. we could clearly say we led luncheon held on 19 September. the world. Nicky Wagner, MP, represented Women’s Māori women won the right to vote in Affairs Minister Pansy Wong and Anne Shaw, national elections in 1893 along with their In Wellington on 15 September, an event Policy Manager, represented the Ministry. Pākehā sisters. And they won the right to was held at the Beehive to celebrate vote and sit in the Māori parliament four New Zealand being first in the world years later in 1897. It is a remarkable story, to give women the vote. Hosted by which you can discover on our website Women’s Affairs Minister Pansy Wong, www.mwa.govt.nz. guest speakers included Hon Judith Collins, Minister of Police and Corrections; The Ministry was involved in three Nicki Crauford, Chief Executive of the celebratory events around New Zealand. With Hon Pansy Wong, L to R: Heena Desai, Deputy Head Girl, Three descendants of leading Māori suffragist Meri Te Tai St Mary’s College; Faye Waddington, Head Girl, St Mary’s Mangakahia with Hon Pansy Wong, L to R: Emma Frost, Irene Frost, College; Jacqueline Perry, Deputy Head Girl, St Catherine’s Mary Amai, and Tania Rangiheuea, author of Māori Women and College; Elizabeth Goulden, Head Girl, St Catherine’s College. The Vote. TE MANA WĀHINE HEI ARA WHAKATIPU | RECOGNITION OF WOMEN’S MANA IS THE PATHWAY TO EQUALITY 3 Women on the board – leading by example After announcing women directors should be a top priority for business, the New Zealand Shareholders’ Association is showing it can lead by example. Three of the Association’s eight full board members are now women. any New Zealand boards are Affairs for directorship roles recently, ‘The Ministry’s nominations scheme is dominated by older men. and the quality of the people suggested incredibly useful. There are people on that MShareholders’ Association chair for our own board was simply stunning.’ list who are very motivated and want to John Hawkins said the organisation had make a difference. And I think that’s terrific.’ been concerned for some time that The Shareholders’ Association has five ‘we need a greater diversity on boards’. branches throughout the country and ‘But we found that a lot of women were over 1,000 members.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Woman Warns Others After House Burgled
    SOUTH ISLAND EDITION press.co.nz MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2010 Retail $1.40 MPs want Break-in drives family from home travel perk scrapped Andrea Vance WHAT THEY GET MPs across the political Backbench MPs are paid $131,000 a year before allowances. spectrum are calling for their The Remuneration Authority sets the base rate of their wage private travel perks to be and the Speaker decides on other entitlements such as scrapped after the resignation travel and office expenses. They are entitled to: of cabinet minister Pansy ■ Domestic travel, but this is not restricted to work-related Wong. trips. The Remuneration Authority considers 5 per cent of this Prime Minister John Key as a benefit and so deducts $1500 from each MP’s salary. said yesterday there was ‘‘a ■ Domestic travel for spouses/partners – as long as they are time and a place’’ for looking not conducting business. As this is also a benefit, a further at the travel perks. $3400 comes out of each MP’s salary. Speaking from Japan ■ Four free flights a year between Wellington and their home where he is attending the base for children of MPs. It is unlimited for under fives. Apec summit he said: ‘‘It’s ■ Discounted international travel for MPs, as long as they are possible there may need to be not conducting private business. some change but today’s not ■ Discounted international travel for their spouses, who must the day to make those not be travelling on business. comments. ‘‘It’s tripped up a number of MPs and that’s very unfor- ing a free travel privilege as a not sure that will ever mollify tunate.
    [Show full text]
  • China's Political Influence Activities Under Xi Jinping Professor
    Magic Weapons: China's political influence activities under Xi Jinping Professor Anne-Marie Brady Global Fellow, Wilson Center, Washington, DC; Department of Political Science and International Relations University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand In September 2014 Xi Jinping gave a speech on the importance of united front work— political influence activities—calling it one of the CCP’s “magic weapons”. The Chinese government’s foreign influence activities have accelerated under Xi. China’s foreign influence activities have the potential to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of the political system of targeted states. Conference paper presented at the conference on “The corrosion of democracy under China’s global influence,” supported by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and hosted in Arlington, Virginia, USA, September 16-17, 2017. Key points: • CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping is leading an accelerated expansion of political influence activities worldwide. • The expansion of these activities is connected to both the CCP government’s domestic pressures and foreign agenda. • The paper creates a template of the policies and modes of China’s expanded foreign influence activities in the Xi era. • The paper uses this template to examine the extent to which one representative small state, New Zealand, is being targeted by China’s new influence agenda. Executive Summary In June 2017 the New York Times and The Economist featured stories on China's political influence in Australia. The New York Times headline asked "Are Australia's Politics too Easy to Corrupt?,"1 while The Economist sarcastically referred to China as the "Meddle Country."2 The two articles were reacting to an investigation by Fairfax Media and ABC into the extent of China's political interference in Australia,3 that built on internal enquiries into the same issue by ASIO and Australia's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 2015 and 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Presence: Political Representation and New Zealand’S Asian Members of Parliament
    THE POLITICS OF PRESENCE: POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AND NEW ZEALAND’S ASIAN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT By Seonah Choi A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science at Victoria University of Wellington 2014 2 Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 4 List of Tables ......................................................................................................................... 5 Definitions ............................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter I: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 8 Chapter II: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 11 2.1 Representative Democracy ........................................................................................ 11 2.2 Theories of Political Representation .......................................................................... 12 2.3 Theories of Minority Representation ......................................................................... 27 2.4 Formulating a Framework ........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Tv3/Cm Gallup Poll
    3 News Opinion Poll 3 News Poll Embargoed 13 December 2010 Opinion Poll Results November 30th – December 7th, 2010 For further information contact: Murray Campbell 021 599684 [email protected] 3 News Opinion Poll Press Release: 3 News Opinion Poll Results November 30th – December 7th, 2010 Projected number of seats in the House on the basis of the latest poll results compared to election night 2008 Number Seats won of seats 2008 election currently predicted Labour 39 43 National 68 58 Green Party 9 9 Maori Party 5 5 ACT 2 5 United Future 1 1 Jim Anderton Progressive - 1 Total seats 124 122 * These figures are based on United Future and ACT winning one electorate seat each and the Maori Party winning five electorate seats 3 News Opinion Poll Research Methodology by Reid Research Date poll was conducted Interviews were conducted over the period November 30th – December 7th 2010 Sample Size 1000 voter eligible New Zealanders aged 18+ Sampling Technique Telephone Interviews. Random generation of telephone numbers with quota sampling to ensure representative cross section by age, sex and geography Sample Coverage National including rural, secondary urban and main urban areas Sample Error Maximum of 3.1% expressed at a 95% confidence level (see below) Observed 10% or 90% 20% or 80% 30% or 70% 40% or 60% 50% Percentages Confidence +/- 1.9% +/- 2.5% +/- 2.7% +/- 3.0% +/- 3.1% limits 3 News Opinion Poll MMP Voting: Party Vote If a general election was held yesterday under MMP, which political party would you have voted for with your Party Vote? That is, for the political party you most want to be represented in parliament.
    [Show full text]
  • Qiaowu and the Overseas Chinese
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UC Research Repository Hand-in-Hand, Heart-to-Heart: Qiaowu and the Overseas Chinese _____________________________________________________________________ A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the University of Canterbury by James Jiann Hua TO ___________________________________________________________ University of Canterbury 2009 Table of Contents Acknowledgements iv Abstract v Notes on Romanization of Chinese vi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations vii Figure 1: Relationships Between the Qiaowu Apparatus and the viii Extended State Bureaucracy 1.00 Introduction 1 1.01 A Comparison: Incorporating the Turkish Diaspora in Europe 3 1.02 Introduction to the Extant Literature 7 1.03 Aims of this Research 10 1.04 Importance of Qiaowu Research to International Relations 11 1.05 Political/Social Control 13 1.06 Qiaowu for the 21st Century 15 1.07 Problems with Assessing Qiaowu 16 1.08 Methodology 17 1.09 Thesis Outline 21 st 2.00 Mobilizing the OC in the 21 Century 23 2.01 Capitalizing on the Olympic Spirit 23 2.02 The 1989 Tiananmen Incident 26 2.03 The CCP’s Ideological Work and Influence on PRC Students 28 2.04 The 2008 Olympic Torch Rallies 30 2.05 Another Evolution in Qiaowu 34 2.05 Conclusion 35 3.00 Unveiling Qiaowu 36 3.01 The Role of the OC for the CCP-led Party-State 36 3.02 Political Mobilization 38 3.03 Espionage 41 3.04 Unveiling Qiaowu 44 3.05 Service for the OC:
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report for the Year Ended 30 June 2005
    A.2 Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2005 Parliamentary Service Commission Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata Presented to the House of Representatives pursuant to Schedule 2, Clause 11 of the Parliamentary Service Act 2000 Report of the Parliamentary Service Commission Membership and Committees The Parliamentary Service Commission comprises representatives from all parties represented in Parliament. The membership of the Parliamentary Service Commission from 1 July 2004 was: Rt. Hon Jonathan Hunt, MP (Chairperson) until March 2005 Hon Margaret Wilson, MP (Chairperson) from March 2005 Peter Brown, MP (representing the NZ First party) Gerry Brownlee, MP (representing the Leader of the Opposition, and the National party) until August 2004 Hon Mark Burton, MP (representing the Leader of the House, and the Labour party) John Carter, MP (representing the National party) Rod Donald, MP (representing the Green party) Hon Peter Dunne, MP (representing the United Future New Zealand party) Jill Pettis, MP (representing the Labour Party) Simon Power, MP (representing the National party) from August 2004 Hon Matt Robson, MP (representing the Progressive Coalition party) Hon Richard Prebble, MP (representing the ACT New Zealand party) until July 2005 Rodney Hide, MP (representing the ACT New Zealand party) from July 2005 Tariana Turia, MP (representing the M7ori party) The House Committee was a committee of the Commission and its members comprised: Ann Hartley, MP (Chair) Marc Alexander, MP Deborah Coddington, MP Darren Hughes, MP Sue Kedgley, MP Pita Paraone, MP Pansy Wong, MP Sub-committees Security John Carter, MP (Chair) Ron Mark, MP Jill Pettis, MP Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2005 Parliamentary Service Commission 2 Te Komihana O Te Whare Paremata Arts Purchasing Hon David Benson-Pope, MP Rt.
    [Show full text]
  • Parliamentary Service Commission for the Year Ended 30 June 2003
    1A. 2 Report of the Parliamentary Service Commission for the year ended 30 June 2003 Presented to the House of Representatives pursuant to Schedule 2, Clause 11, of the Parliamentary Service Act 2000 A. 2 2 REPORT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY SERVICE COMMISSION Membership and Committees The Parliamentary Service Commission comprises representatives from all parties represented in Parliament. The membership of the Parliamentary Service Commission from 1 July 2002 was: Rt. Hon Jonathan Hunt, MP (Chair) David Benson-Pope, MP (representing the Labour party) Peter Brown, MP (representing the NZ First party) Gerry Brownlee, MP (representing the Leader of the Opposition, and the National party) Hon Mark Burton, MP (representing the Leader of the House, and the Labour party) John Carter, MP (representing the National party) Rod Donald, MP (representing the Green party) Hon Peter Dunne, MP (representing the United Future New Zealand party) Hon Richard Prebble, C.B.E., MP (representing the ACT New Zealand party) Hon Matt Robson, MP (representing the Progressive Coalition party) The Interim Commission between Parliaments comprised: Rt. Hon Jonathan Hunt, MP (Chair) Rick Barker, MP (representing the Leader of the House) Hon Roger Sowry, MP (representing the Leader of the Opposition) The House Committee was a committee of the Commission and its membership comprised: Ann Hartley, MP (Chair) Marc Alexander, MP Deborah Coddington, MP 3A. 2 Darren Hughes, MP Sue Kedgley, MP Pita Paraone, MP Pansy Wong, MP A sub-committee to review security measures at Parliament was constituted and its membership comprised: John Carter, MP (Chair) David Benson-Pope, MP Ron Mark, MP Hon Mark Burton, MP, and John Carter, MP, were the Parliamentary Service Commission appointees to the Parliamentary Corporation pursuant to section 29(1)(c) of the Parliamentary Service Act 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • JUNE 2009 Newsletter
    www.nzchinese_akld.org.nz JUNE 2009 Newsletter PO.BOX 484 Akld. 1010 NZCA Auckland Inc. Website: www.nzchinese_akld.org.nz 1 VICE-CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE Welcome to the 2009 Autumn edition of the NZCA Auckland Branch newsletter. I write this introduction because our Chairman and his lovely wife are taking a well deserved holiday back to the Mother land. My name is Richard Leung and I am the new NZCA Auckland Branch Vice Chairman. I have been on the Branch committee for the past 5 years and have been involved in many aspects of Branch activities, I am honoured for this opportunity to serve the Auckland Branch in this capacity and look forward in supporting Kai during the next term. A new committee was elected on Sunday 26 April at the Branch AGM held at the Mangere Hall. We welcome several new and younger members to the committee for the coming term and also thank those that have volunteered their precious time again. The new members are Alistair Kwun, Michael Ng, Raymond Kwok, Justin Yang, Melissa Wong and Ken Ginn. David Wong has also been elected Branch Secretary and will be an able replacement for our past Secretary Susan Wong. With the addition of these new committee members we now have a good mix of experience and youth that will keep the Branch in good stead into the future. We also say thank you to Schep Fong and Gillian Young (who had decided not to stand again), for their contributions to the Branch for the past term. Gillian will continue in her role with the Women’s group.
    [Show full text]
  • Settler Chinese Women's Storytelling in Aotearoa New Zealand
    BENEATH THE LONG WHITE CLOUD: SETTLER CHINESE WOMEN’S STORYTELLING IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND Grace Yee Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (by creative work and dissertation) February 2016 School of Culture and Communication The University of Melbourne Produced on archival quality paper ABSTRACT This thesis analyses settler Chinese women’s storytelling in Aotearoa New Zealand in order to articulate a conception of autonomous subjectivity within the context of hegemonic Colonialist Orientalist narratives. Utilising a bricolage methodology that combines the researcher’s creative writing with critical analyses of spoken and written stories, including interviews with authors, it focuses on Chinese women’s lived experiences and the narrative strategies they deploy. The prolonged absence of the feminine voice is barely acknowledged in extant studies of the settler Chinese community in New Zealand. Chinese women’s stories did not emerge in the public domain until the 1990s. While increased recognition of this writing appears to point to the country’s progress, Colonialist Orientalist narratives have continued to characterise Chinese women as either exotic and Oriental or assimilated and invisible, subordinating them in accord with an enduring prototype: ‘Chinese woman’. I contend that the insidiousness of this prototype is reflected in its integration into settler Chinese women’s subjectivities, and in the stories they tell: both ‘inside’ the Chinese community, and ‘outside’ in the Pākehā mainstream. As such, it appears that there exists no space within which these women can express an autonomous subjectivity and thereby assert a ‘separate’ identity. This thesis is concerned with identifying such a space.
    [Show full text]
  • Sector Overview
    Sector Overview Māori, Other Populations and Cultural Sector MĀORI, OTHER POPULATIONS AND CULTURAL SECTOR - INFORMATION SUPPORTING THE ESTIMATES 2009/10 B.5A Vol.8 | 1 SECTOR OVERVIEW Ministerial Statements of Responsibility Each of us is satisfied that the information on future operating intentions provided by our respective departments and included in the Information Supporting the Estimates for the Māori, Other Populations and Cultural Sector is in accordance with sections 38 and 41 of the Public Finance Act 1989 and is consistent with the policies and performance expectations of the government. Hon Christopher Finlayson Hon Georgina te Heuheu Responsible Minister for the Ministry for Culture Responsible Minister for the Ministry of Pacific and Heritage Island Affairs 22 April 2009 22 April 2009 Hon Pansy Wong Hon Maurice Williamson Responsible Minister for the Ministry of Women's Responsible Minister for Statistics New Zealand Affairs 22 April 2009 22 April 2009 Hon Dr Richard Worth Hon Dr Pita Sharples Responsible Minister for Archives New Zealand Responsible Minister for the Ministry of Māori Responsible Minister for the Department of Internal Development Affairs 22 April 2009 Responsible Minister for the National Library 22 April 2009 2 | MĀORI, OTHER POPULATIONS AND CULTURAL SECTOR - INFORMATION SUPPORTING THE ESTIMATES 2009/10 B.5A Vol.8 SECTOR OVERVIEW Chief Executive Statements of Responsibility Ministry for Culture and Heritage In signing this statement, I acknowledge that I am responsible for the information contained in the Information Supporting the Estimates for the Māori, Other Populations and Cultural Sector relating to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and for the Votes for which the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is the administering department.
    [Show full text]
  • Investigation of Travel Rebate Entitlement and Other Matters
    Hugh McPhail - Consultant Report Investigation of Travel Rebate Entitlement and Other Matters November 2010 Mobile: +64 (0)21 705 817 Email: [email protected] Web: www.mcphail.net.nz Map prepared using Google Maps ii Investigation of Travel Rebate Entitlement and Other Matters Table of Contents Summary ..................................................................................... 1 Purpose....................................................................................... 1 Scope ...................................................................................... 1 Deliverables............................................................................... 2 Methodology .............................................................................. 2 Speaker’s Directions and Determinations ............................................... 2 2010 Directions........................................................................... 2 Directions relating to International Air Travel....................................... 3 Directions Relating to Domestic Air Travel by Spouses and Partners............. 5 Directions relating to the Use of Electorate Offices ................................ 5 Definition of “private business purposes” ............................................ 6 Advice to Members....................................................................... 6 Sammy and Pansy Wong’s Business and Other Interests .............................. 7 Business Activities ......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Magic Weapons: China's Political Influence Activities Under Xi Jinping
    Magic Weapons: China's political influence activities under Xi Jinping Professor Anne-Marie Brady Global Fellow, Wilson Center, Washington, DC; Department of Political Science and International Relations University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand In September 2014 Xi Jinping gave a speech on the importance of united front work— political influence activities—calling it one of the CCP’s “magic weapons”. The Chinese government’s foreign influence activities have accelerated under Xi. China’s foreign influence activities have the potential to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of the political system of targeted states. Conference paper presented at the conference on “The corrosion of democracy under China’s global influence,” supported by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and hosted in Arlington, Virginia, USA, September 16-17, 2017. Key points: • CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping is leading an accelerated expansion of political influence activities worldwide. • The expansion of these activities is connected to both the CCP government’s domestic pressures and foreign agenda. • The paper creates a template of the policies and modes of China’s expanded foreign influence activities in the Xi era. • The paper uses this template to examine the extent to which one representative small state, New Zealand, is being targeted by China’s new influence agenda. Executive Summary In June 2017 the New York Times and The Economist featured stories on China's political influence in Australia. The New York Times headline asked "Are Australia's Politics too Easy to Corrupt?,"1 while The Economist sarcastically referred to China as the "Meddle Country."2 The two articles were reacting to an investigation by Fairfax Media and ABC into the extent of China's political interference in Australia,3 that built on internal inquiries into the same issue by ASIO and Australia's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 2015 and 2016.
    [Show full text]