This is outrageous. We should be educating the students, not maintaining their illusions. Just because there's less corruption than before doesn't mean the Chinese government's not rotten all the way to the top. While the Chinese government keep contravening their own laws, the students should be aware of the fact. And most importantly, they should be aware that we do not regard them as representatives of their government, nor their government as representatives of them.

Political sensitivities! Are you serious!?

Sure, we don't go out of our why with megaphone diplomacy to tell the whole flaming world what we may or may not think or want, but as fair dinkum Aussies with a well respected reputation for telling it, even with face saving Asian friends, like it is!

One is therefore, scrupulously honest with friends! Even those, who would rather be dead than lose face!

So, privacy matters, as these to your face and not behind your back, elder statesmen edicts are ventilated!

And that, sorry friend, truth includes a diabolical record on human rights and the unlawful settlement of contested border issues! Or that court rulings in mainland China, are almost always foregone conclusions!

Which ought to mean, we just stop trying to do ("grease the wheels") business with China until they become one of us, governed by the rule of law and basic human rights, rather than the lawless, sabre rattling, bully on the block, with very deep pockets!

More tea anyone? For me? You shouldn't have, and thank you, very very nice.
Alan B.

The "sensitivities" of a crap country are inevitably sensitivities about mention of its crappiness. We should never have grovellingly stopped recognising Taiwan's government as government of China after Tricky Dick Nixon had his grand brain fart. The Peking rulers have remained nothing but thugs while the Taiwanese have discovered civilisation and the government in Taipei is the only honestly elected government in either of the two Chinas. Time to ignore Peking's "sensitivities" and switch our recognition to Taipei. Donald Trump made a halting move in that direction a while back and we could support his coming back to it, especially in view of Peking's nod-nod-wink-wink relationship with fascist North Korea.

Free trade with slave countries has nothing to do with principles and is driven only by the greed of the acquisitors of wealth to participate in the enslavement at catastrophic blowback cost to Australian jobs.

I started reading this. And then soon I wondered who was writing this? I looked at the name of the author and read his career.

FREE TIBET

Free Tibet. Right on, Pilgrim.

And free Hong Kong

And free East Turkestan

And finally free China

I second Pilgrim and Julian!