The Canberra Reporter canrep8pgOCT2017 final01 | Page 2

2 | The Canberra Reporter | OCTOBER 2017
WE SAY, YOU SAY
Standpoint
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
INDRA ESGUERRA
Sir:
I am writing to express my concern on the lack of information
dissemination on the achievements made so far by Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte administration in its first year of
office.
As president of the Filipino Advocates for Change and
Transparency (Fil-ACT) Australia, I believe it is a moral
imperative to let the Filipino community know of the Philippine
Government’s reform agenda to reinvigorate discussions and
engagements towards finding common grounds.
Looking forward to engage.
FLINT C. ADARNE
Franklin, ACT
EDITORIAL
What to make of
China influences
WE SAW what has been suggested as the hand of the Communist
China Government in our faces yet again, this time in our universi-
ties.
Earlier last month, in September, a headline of The Weekend
Australian newspaper read: ‘Top unis admit China influence’.
Weeks later the front page of The Australian issue of Tuesday,
October 20, 2017 carried a story having the head of the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Frances Adamson, urging Australian
universities to “resist foreign interference” and warning China “to
expect greater scrutiny of its activities”.
So now Australians must be growing more anxious about the
dizzying speed at which big Chinese acquisitions in Australia are
moving.
In the last five years alone, we have seen large tracks of land,
farms, real estate, businesses, and an Australian sea port go to
Chinese interests.
Not a problem, you say?
Well, would a regime such as Communist China have an influence
in how these business acquisitions will be used?
Would it - were China to choose - interfere with policy and man-
agement?
Maybe we saw the tip of the iceberg when it chose to influence,
albeit in a small way, some of our politicians with favours.
Our Government must take bolder steps to ensure our country
puts the brakes on foreign acquisitions in the way China is barrel-
ling through.
Heaven help us if China’s next major acquisition is media.
That would be a real worry. n
JAIME K PIMENTEL, editor
AT PRESSTIME
A FILIPINO-Australian named Jerico Malambonga won Channel 10’s reaili-
ty TV series, Australian Survivor, on Tuesday, October 10, 2017.
Jerico, 25, a fllight attendant at Qantas Airways, arrived in Australia as an
immigrant three years ago.
Despite taking home $500,000 prizemoney, Jerico said he loved his job
and would stay at Qantas.
“I’m proud of my experience. I am proud of my game,” he said at the final
Jury. “I hope I have made Australia proud, my family proud, fans proud, and
Survivor.”
Multiculturalism - what’s a fair test?
DID YOU have to do an English language test to
become an Australian?
National discussions about Peter Dutton’s pro-
posed new English language test have made me
reflect on the people arriving here in Canberra
when I was a child. Like many, I remember refu-
gees arriving from places like Lebanon and Viet-
nam who couldn’t speak any English at all.
Over many decades, like everyone else, they
have of course contributed to our evolving Austra-
lia - gone on to work or establish businesses here,
and grown up new families. The irony of such a test
when many first nation Australians cannot speak
any English jars.
Is speaking English really the test of w hether you
should be able to become a new Australian?
Given that people from NZ, UK, Ireland, Canada
and USA are automatically excluded from needing
to sit the test, yet there are 54 countries around the
world with English as an official language, it seems
more like a white background test.
Federal Government information uses terror-
ism very clearly as the excuse to increase the
challenges for new migrants. Do they really think
that barring applicants who fail the language test
three times will knock out the terrorists wanting to
become citizens of Australia? Are they trying to
filter people for cultural values, or is it more about a
racial filter?
Things really have changed a lot since the Aus-
tralian Government used to support people like my
grandparents, by teaching them English in Europe
before they migrated.
Given the many horrendous situations for so
many millions of people around the globe, Australia
has an imperative to take immigrants - but not just
filtered from largely white countries.
The legislation has been introduced into the
House of Representatives, but has not been
introduced into the Senate yet, and is likely to be
opposed by the Greens, Labor and some cross-
benchers. n
Shooting Straight
JOSEPH ORBASE
Breaking the enemy without fighting
THIS column follows my earlier opinion piece in July about
‘Unrestricted Warfare’ concepts in a book written by two Peo-
ple’s Liberation Army officers from China, Colonel Qiao Liang
and Colonel Wang Xiangsui in 1999.
Here are some of the forms of warfare that the two colonels
highlighted which can be used in combination or sets of pack-
ages in ‘Unrestricted Warfare’.
FINANCIAL WARFARE – means entering and subverting
banking and stock markets and manipulating the value of a
target currency.
SMUGGLING WARFARE – sabotaging a rival country’s
economy by flooding its markets with illegal goods and flood-
ing the market with pirated products.
CULTURAL WARFARE – influencing the cultural biases of a
targeted country by imposing your own cultural viewpoints.
DRUG WARFARE – flooding illicit drugs across national
borders and breaking down the fabric of a society through
their use.
Media and Fabrication Warfare – manipulating foreign
media, either by compromising or intimidating journalist or
getting access to another country’s airwaves and imposing
your own national perspective.
TECHNOLOGICAL WARFARE – gaining control or having
an edge in particular vital technologies that can be used in
both peace and wartime.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE – imposing one’s national
interest by dominating a rival nation’s perception of its own
strength and weakness.
ENVIRONMENTAL WARFARE – weakening or subjugating
a rival nation by despoiling or altering its natural environment.
ECONOMIC AID WARFARE – controlling a targeted country
through aid dependency.
RESOURCE WARFARE – gaining control of scarce natural
resources and being able to control or manipulate their ac-
cess and market value.
NETWORK WARFARE – dominating or subverting transna-
tional system
We are now seeing these forms of warfare being used by
China in the world stage.
We are now feeling the effect of this ‘Unrestricted Warfare’
which is now a doctrine used by China.
The two authors of the book did warn us that “When people
begin to lean towards and rejoice in the reduced use of
military force to resolve conflicts, war will be reborn in an-
other form and in another arena, becoming an instrument of
enormous power in the hands of those who harbor intentions
of controlling other countries or region.”
The concept of ‘Unrestricted Warfare’ is indeed strongly in
adherence to Sun Tzu’s teachings in the art of war, hence, “to
fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excel-
lence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s
resistance without fighting.” n
CAUGHT ON CAMERA
How long, or short, is the Christmas season to you?
MEDLYN TIZON LE ROY
Narrabunda ACT
Christmas in Australia is
a bit short for me because
of modern-day affliction
focusing on too much com-
mercialism and Christmas
rush that people seem to be
in a hurry to get it over and
done with.
Unlike in the Philippines,
decorations start as early as
September, with many par-
ties and gift-giving before
and during Christmas Day,
right through January, even
after Pasko is over. n
RALPH BOMEDIANO
Camperdown NSW
We Filipinos usually start
Christmas in the Philippines
with music and carols as
early as September and
finish after mid-January’s
Three Kings in the Philip-
pines. But in Australia it
starts in December.
I really miss Family gath-
erings. My late grandfather
Papa Hector’s home-made
cured ham made out of love
and patience brought fun
and laughter at Christmas
family reunions. n
OLIVER GADISTA
Merrylands NSW
Having spent most of my
childhood in the Philip-
pines, I remember the
carolling started to happen
before December. So really
Christmas for me starts
once I hear the Christmas
Carols.
Mum used to prepare
pastillas and other sweets
leading to Christmas day to
give the ‘namamasko’. The
essence of Christmas is to
give, not expecting anything
in return. n