Hey Yuyutsu,
I'm not sure I know who the greater or lesser evil is anymore.
- that's about all I can honestly come up with right now.

The US seems to want to rule everyone, and dictate for it's own interests
It may bring 'democracy' but it just as much about exploiting other countries and profits that can be made from doing so,
inc. profits from wars, military spending to bolster a clapped out economy.

China may be communist, but some of the criticisms against them seem to be deliberately overblown.
At least they genuinely try to build things that make the lives of the people whose countries they're in better, which the west most certainly does not.

Above all, having to choose the lesser evil is really a poor concept.
No-one really wins when those are the choices anyway.

Dear Critic,

«I'm not sure I know who the greater or lesser evil is anymore.»

If we had this conversation in China and you wrote the above, where would you be the next day?

Yes, there are many illegitimate impositions and prohibitions in Australia, policed by a bully state we never had an opportunity to choose whether or not to have anything to do with.

But compared to China? where people disappear into concentration camps just for practicing their religion or even just belonging to a religious or ethnic group? where even the remaining religious institutions are ordered to remove religious symbols and place photos of Xi and party-propaganda instead? where everything one does is recorded and evaluated by AI technology?

I suppose there are some exceptions, a few things that Chinese are allowed to do or have and we not, such as to consume certain exotic animals (including insects and reptiles, dogs, cats and sharks) and use their ingredients in traditional medicines. Chinese are also, unlike here, allowed to ride [manual] bicycles without a helmet!

Suppose we so much opposed the Australian restrictions that we marched out in the streets against them in great numbers, here at least we would not be crushed under tanks, would we?

«Above all, having to choose the lesser evil is really a poor concept.
No-one really wins when those are the choices anyway.»

Good, so what alternative do you suggest?

Honiara reacts angrily after Australia offers to help fund Solomon Islands election amid moves to postpone the poll
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-06/solomon-islands-election-funding-penny-wong/101410316

Australia is using money as a weapon to empower the narratives of opposition groups, and

Hey Yuyutsu,
I suggest Australia worry about Australia and let China worry about China.
All we seem to do is make decisions that cost the Australian people money and jobs.
- And that makes about as much sense as peeing into a headwind.
In my opinion Australian interests start and end at our maritime borders.

Dear Critic,

«I suggest Australia worry about Australia and let China worry about China.»

"Australia" as such worries about nothing because it is an inanimate object.

Nevertheless, the people of Australia, most anyway, including myself, are troubled about the suffering of the Chinese people, the people in the countries China occupies and the potential suffering of those in countries that the Chinese regime desires to occupy.

Nor can China as such worry about anything, but the vision of the Chinese regime does not stop at China!
As part of their vision, they see a weak continent containing enormous amounts of ores - iron, coal, copper, gold and much more, along with the potential of having millions of Australian slaves dig it till they drop and some 100-millions Huns taking over their space.

«All we seem to do is make decisions that cost the Australian people money and jobs.»

Yes, there are people for whom money is everything. They consider any helping of others for free to be stupid. Trump was one of them.

«And that makes about as much sense as peeing into a headwind»

Who said that we ought to be stupid like the ANZACs who rode unprotected straight into the Turkish firing line? We can be more intelligent than that and if there is wind - use a wind-cheater!

«In my opinion Australian interests start and end at our maritime borders.»

Aha. When the Nazis took the communists, people said "I am not a communist, let me deal with it when they come for me".
When the Nazis took the Jews, people said "I am not a Jew, let me deal with it when they come for me".
When the Nazis took the homosexuals, people said "I am not a homosexual, let me deal with it when they come for me".
And when the Nazis came for them... it was too late...

What sort of a response did you expect to get Jeffrey?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-07/coalition-says-labor-mishandled-solomon-islands-election-offer/101416408

These people will never be our 'partners' you know why?
Simple, these governments don't trust us, and we don't work to build mutual respect.
People like Jeffrey are all the other non-profit 'democracy' NGO family are too busy playing the grand chessboard to consider any 'nation' partners.
Their partners are individuals that can affect an outcome not nations.
- And at the end of the day, it's all about China and all the players know it.
I take it the Solomons Island opposition either benefit from western funding or are aligned with them...
(They might be partners)

Yuyutsu, some of those 'stupid' ANZACs were my relatives, one of which fought in Gaza in 1917 and helped pave the way for Israel, a nation you may be more familiar with.

As for carrying on over China, you probably fall for too much propaganda, most of the people you mentioned whinging are actually related to western governments in some way and may as well be loyal employees as such.

Dear Critic,

I am so sorry, I did not mean that members of your family were stupid, only that the act of charging cavalry frontally, senselessly straight in front of enemy machine-guns, was utterly stupid, criminal in fact.

«most of the people you mentioned whinging are actually related to western governments»

Which are they who whinged? I don't recall mentioning any names.