China intimidating Kiwi academic?

Last week’s burglary at the home of Christchurch academic Anne-Marie Brady, an expert on Chinese politics, has to be taken seriously. It is hard to escape the suspicion that she is being deliberately intimidated by a foreign power.

If that is the case, it is completely unacceptable. New Zealanders need to be sure that they can say or write whatever they like in New Zealand without worrying about a backlash or consequences in their home country at the hands of a foreign government.

Brady is an associate professor in political science at the University of Canterbury. She attracted international attention with a paper published in September by the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank entitled ‘‘Magic Weapons’’. It outlined how China asserts its influence overseas, and used New Zealand as a case study.

The paper raised a number of concerns which Brady said she found disturbing. It questioned China’s donations to political parties, and directorships in Chinese companies offered to former government ministers and their relatives.

It also detailed how Chinese-owned dairy farms had been used for near-space balloon launches which allegedly could be used to refine missile technology. It also outlined how China influences groups in other countries, and seeks to discourage people in the Chinese diaspora from opposing its policies.

This applies not only to recent migrants from China, but anyone who lives in Chinese-speaking communities overseas. These strategies are being deployed not just in New Zealand, but all over the world.

Concerns about Chinese government influence in Australian society have caused the Australians to begin the biggest overhaul of intelligence and espionage laws in decades, including the banning of foreign political donations. People seeking to influence Australian politics on behalf of other nations will be forced to declare whom they are working for.

Brady, a fluent Mandarin speaker, has produced critiques of China which would probably not be tolerated there. That, however, is her right as a New Zealand academic and writer. She should be able to do it without fear of consequence, and should be able to rely on support from her colleagues, her university, her Government, and the rest of us.

It is deeply disturbing therefore that her office and home have been broken into. When her house was burgled last Wednesday, computers and USB drives were taken, but other things of obvious value were not disturbed. She had previously received a warning that she would be attacked.

Obviously, we do not know who committed the burglary, or if anyone else commissioned or sanctioned it. It might have been an ordinary break-in, or an act committed by local supporters of the Chinese government who don’t like Brady’s work. But it could be more sinister.

Brady herself believes the threat and the break-ins are an attempt to intimidate and silence her.

The police need to make sure that they treat this criminal act seriously – on the face of it, the violation of her home looks like more than an everyday break-in and robbery.

Other Government agencies likewise should make sure that the truth of the matter is investigated and understood. And if it is found that the offence has been committed directly or indirectly at the behest of another country’s government, the strongest diplomatic protest needs to be made.