New Zealand is toughening up on China
It stands up more to its biggest trading partner than it is given credit for
TO HAVE ONE politician accused of spying for a foreign government may be regarded as misfortune. But to have two is certainly carelessness. In 2017 Yang Jian, a Chinese-born member of New Zealand’s National Party, was revealed to have worked for more than a decade in Chinese military-training centres. He admitted to teaching spies (though not to being one) yet remained in his Kiwi job until 2020, when he retired. Days later, a second Chinese-born mP, Raymond Huo of the Labour government, said he was leaving politics. He too was accused of having links to China’s Communist Party. New Zealand’s intelligence agencies had prodded both parties to remove the men.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Getting real”
From the October 22nd 2022 edition
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