[In the yet-unpublished book, the author,
Clive Hamilton, a well-known intellectual and professor at Charles Sturt
University in Australia, describes what he calls an orchestrated campaign by
Beijing to influence Australia and silence China’s critics.]
By Jacqueline Williams
 |
|
An
uproar followed an Australian publisher’s decision
to postpone the release of a book
by Clive Hamilton,
who says Beijing is actively working
to
silence China’s critics.
|
SYDNEY,
Australia — The book was
already being promoted as an explosive exposé of Chinese influence infiltrating
the highest levels of Australian politics and media. But then, months before it
was set to hit bookstore shelves, its publisher postponed the release, saying
it was worried about lawsuits.
The decision this month to delay the book,
“Silent Invasion: How China Is Turning Australia into a Puppet State,” has set
off a national uproar, highlighting the tensions between Australia’s growing
economic dependence on China and its fears of falling under the political
control of the rising Asian superpower.
Critics have drawn parallels to decisions
this year by high-profile academic publishers in Europe to withhold articles
from readers in China that might anger the Communist Party.
But the case has struck a particularly
sensitive nerve in Australia, where the book’s delay is the latest in a series
of incidents that have raised concerns about what many here see as the threat
from China to freedom of expression.
“The decision by Allen & Unwin to stall
publication of this book almost proves the point that there’s an undue level of
Chinese influence in Australia,” said Prof. Rory Medcalf, head of the National
Security College at Australian National University. Allen & Unwin is one of
Australia’s largest publishers.
In the yet-unpublished book, the author,
Clive Hamilton, a well-known intellectual and professor at Charles Sturt
University in Australia, describes what he calls an orchestrated campaign by
Beijing to influence Australia and silence China’s critics.
In one chapter, according to Mr. Hamilton,
the book asserts that senior Australian journalists were taken on junkets to
China in order to “shift their opinions” so they would present China in a more
positive light.
In another chapter, he said the book details
what he calls links between Australian scientists and researchers at Chinese
military universities, which he said had led to a transfer of scientific
know-how to the People’s Liberation Army.
The book had been scheduled to be published
in April, and Mr. Hamilton had already turned in a manuscript. But Allen &
Unwin, based in Sydney, suddenly informed him on Nov. 2 that it wanted to
postpone publishing because of legal concerns.
Mr. Hamilton responded by demanding the
return of the publication rights, effectively canceling the book’s publication
by Allen & Unwin. Mr. Hamilton says he will seek another publisher.
Mr. Hamilton said the decision had been made
for fear of angering Beijing, and shows China’s ability to limit what
information Australians can see — exactly the sort of influence that he said he
warned about in his book.
“This is the first case, I believe, where a
major Western publisher has decided to censor material critical of China in its
home country,” Mr. Hamilton said in an interview. “Many people are deeply
offended by this attack on free speech, and people see a basic value that
defines Australia being undermined.”
In a statement, the publisher said it decided
to hold off publishing the book, which would have been Mr. Hamilton’s ninth
with the company, until “certain matters currently before the courts have been
decided.”
It did not specify what those matters were.
“Clive was unwilling to delay publication and
requested the return of his rights,” the statement said.
However, Mr. Hamilton has disclosed an email
that he said was sent to him on Nov. 8 by Allen & Unwin’s chief executive,
Robert Gorman. The email explained the decision to delay the book’s release: “April
2018 was too soon to publish the book and allow us to adequately guard against
potential threats to the book and the company from possible action by Beijing.”
“Our lawyer pointed to recent legal attacks
by Beijing’s agents of influence against mainstream Australian media
organizations,” the email said.
The contents of the email have been widely
reported by the local news media. When asked for comment, Allen & Unwin
declined to confirm or deny its authenticity. Mr. Gorman has not gone public to
deny the email’s authenticity.
Mr. Hamilton said the publisher was probably
referring to two defamation cases that are currently in the courts aimed at two
Australian media companies: the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a major
television company, and Fairfax Media, a newspaper publisher.
One of the suits was filed by Chau Chak Wing,
a Chinese-Australian businessman who has been a major donor in Australian
politics. Dr. Chau is seeking damages from the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation for a TV news report that the suit says damaged his personal and
professional reputation.
That report, which was shown on a popular
current affairs program, said the Australian Security Intelligence
Organization, the domestic spy agency, had warned political parties against
accepting contributions from two ethnic Chinese, of whom one was Dr. Chau,
because of what the report called ties to the Chinese government.
Dr. Chau has long said his campaign
contributions are entirely legal and unrelated to the Chinese government.
The news report prompted a heated debate in
Australia over how vulnerable its democratic political system is to foreign
influence, especially from China.
The question of Chinese interference is a
delicate one for Australia, an American ally that has embraced Beijing as its
largest trade partner and welcomed Chinese investors, immigrants and students
in large numbers.
“The book shows in great detail the problem
of Chinese influence in Australia is much deeper than we thought,” said Mr.
Hamilton, a prolific author who in 2009 received the Order of Australia, one of
the country’s highest honors, for “service to public debate and policy
development.” “I think some of the material I’ve uncovered have been a shock
even to our intelligence agencies,” he said.
James Leibold, a professor of politics and
Asian studies at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, said the decision
to withhold such a book, especially one written by a noted author like Mr.
Hamilton, underscored China’s growing ability to pressure publishers and other
media companies.
Last month, Springer Nature, one of the
world’s largest academic publishers, came under criticism for self-censorship
after it bowed to Chinese government requests to block hundreds of articles on
its Chinese website that touched on delicate topics like Taiwan, Tibet and
Chinese politics.
In August, another publisher, Cambridge
University Press, admitted to removing some 300 articles from the Chinese
website of China Quarterly, an academic journal, that mentioned issues like the
1989 Tiananmen massacre.
Experts say Allen & Unwin, the Australian
publisher, has gone a step further by delaying access to a book to readers
outside of China.
“Australia is a bellwether,” said Professor
Medcalf of National Security College. “If dissent can be stifled here, then it
can be stifled anywhere.”
Xiuzhong Xu contributed reporting from
Melbourne, Australia.
Follow Jacqueline Williams on Twitter:
@jwilliamsNYT.
