Summarised by Centrist
Former National MP Simon O’Connor says Kiwis need to wake up to the threats posed by the Chinese government in the wake of a cyber-attack on New Zealand’s Parliament. For the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), “hacking is just one part of a continuum that also includes persecution, coercion, and manipulation,” he says.
O’Connor is concerned over the audacity of China, New Zealand’s major trading partner, in infiltrating the core of its democratic system. According to O’Connor the target of the hack, which took place in 2021, was the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), a committee co-chaired by O’Connor when he was in Parliament.
According to O’Connor, the cyber-attack, part of China’s broader agenda, aims to stifle dissenting voices globally and gather intelligence on the Chinese diaspora.
“The intention is as simple as it is dangerous – to silence any voice that criticises the CCP,” he says.
Solely prioritising trade relations with China while ignoring actions, which O’Connor calls mischievous at best, and malicious at worst, is a mistake.
At the same time, O’Connor draws attention to other active Chinese state espionage and intimidation efforts against CCP dissidents still ongoing in New Zealand.
“As I have always said, we do need to trade with China and events this week do not change this, but we should trade with eyes wide open,“ he says.
