In a wide-ranging webinar discussion on Tuesday night, Turnbull and Rudd reflected on Australia’s deteriorating relationship with China, and the effect that could have on 1.2m Australians of Chinese heritage. Turnbull, the Liberal prime minister from 2015 to 2018 who introduced tougher foreign interference and espionage laws, said one of the reasons language was so important was because the Communist Party of China was “very ready to say any criticism of Xi Jinping’s regime or his policies is anti-Chinese”.
He told the La Trobe University event that the Australian government must therefore make clear the “Chinese people are part of our Australian family” and any disagreements were with the government of China.
