Thread by @democratie_kate

@CaoAhMan It would be. How do you see that happening, though? (I'm still reading up on Dan Andrews & the BRI, by the way, even wading through the #NewsCorpse sludge just to see what the other side says about it)

@CaoAhMan OK. I've come to some conclusions..

Dan signed up to BRI in 2018. I accept his statement that it was purely about jobs. But I'd like to know if he still maintains that position.

Since 2018 China has made it increasingly clear that trade and diplomacy can no longer be separated.

@CaoAhMan And trade & human rights cannot be separated either.

On that note, I'll just add the Morrison Government are total hypocrites for slamming Dan Andrews over the BRI. Morrison & his predecessor Turnbull both praised the BRI, & both signed up to it, albeit on more stringent terms.

@CaoAhMan The Australian Government only agreed to participate in BRI work in third countries, not on Australian soil. China remains our biggest trading partner, & until Morrison's mob starts actively seeking new places to export, he should shut his mouth on Victoria, he's got no idea.

@CaoAhMan Dan Andrews in comparison signed up to the BRI without this limitation, allowing direct exchange between China and Victoria. I see the federal government's reasons for alarm - I actually had no idea the states had the power to sign international business agreements independently.

@CaoAhMan But to criticise Victoria's BRI agreement based on it being 'against Australia's China policy' and blathering on about human rights is a massive double standard. Especially from Morrison, whose human rights record is appalling.

@CaoAhMan I like Dan Andrews, and I admire him to hell and back for the way he's handled Victoria's COVID-19 crisis. But I didn't realise how far back his relationship with China goes until I began seriously researching into the BRI stuff last night, and I have questions.

@CaoAhMan It may have been irresponsible of me not to look into this earlier. It's certainly been on my mind since 2018, but I admittedly didn't give it a great deal of thought because until COVID-19, what other state premiers were doing was a lesser concern than the federal government.

@CaoAhMan I've also grown up in an Australia that was heavily federal; the state governments had relatively little power. For that reason I ignorantly assumed the federal government could veto the Andrews BRI deal if they really cared that much. That's not an excuse, just an explanation.

@CaoAhMan But now, & particularly because I've been posting in support of #DanForPM, I have questions, and I intend to ask them of the man himself. Not now. After Victoria's COVID-19 restrictions are lifted & he's had a chance to take time away. He's human, he's been working his guts out.

@CaoAhMan I know his relationship with China dates back to at least 2010 when he was elected Premier. I don't know if it goes back further. I would like to ask him about the origins of his relationship with China, and I'd like to know if he speaks the language.

@CaoAhMan I'd also like to know his honest views on China's ethnic cleansing. That's what it is, I don't care what they call it, it's bullshit. And I'd like to know if he still stands by his statement that Victoria's BRI agreement is purely about jobs.

@CaoAhMan Because while you could say such a thing in 2018, you can't say it now. You can't divorce economic relations with China from everything else that's going on there. They've shown that in their recent punishment of Australia.

@CaoAhMan And in about half a hundred ways, I could go on for a long time. Dan Andrews has a long history with China; for someone like him to say, in 2020, that their BRI agreement is purely about jobs is disingenuous. I'll write more in a little bit, got to do something.

@CaoAhMan I know he defended Vic's BRI agreement in 2019, but I'm wary of taking that as an isolated statement, because his remarks were in response to Scott Morrison's criticism, and I thought the real issue at hand wasn't the BRI, but a power struggle.

@CaoAhMan Morrison was humiliated in 2018 in the runup to the Victorian state election when he came to Melbourne. They don't like him there. The Victorian Liberals barely have a presence, they're an absolute joke. Morrison has less sway and presence in Victoria than anywhere else.

@CaoAhMan And with him, it IS personal. It always has been. He's a spin doctor, not a leader. So of course he sees Dan Andrews as a challenger to the throne. I don't think their back-and-forth over the BRI was about China at all. It was about power games and vendettas.

@CaoAhMan It's easy to see when Morrison feels threatened by someone, because he shows it. He has no idea what to do when people don't buy his marketing bullshit and turns shouty and aggro. The only one I've ever seen give a bit of aggro back has been Dan Andrews. Which makes me wonder.

@CaoAhMan Dan reminds me of the old-school Labor politicians in that he doesn't mind taking shots back at Scummo, and - before COVID-19, it's hard to say now - I thought he had a tendency towards dogmatism. Not a huge one, but one that has bearing on this BRI stuff.

@CaoAhMan Everyone who's signed up to the BRI talks about it using terms that I associate with CCP propaganda. Dan Andrews included.

The trouble here is I don't know if that's standard. Is this always the case with international agreements? Does the other country supply a script?

@CaoAhMan Are there laws about it? Or is it a China-specific thing? In journalism the news is vetted before being passed to the Western journalists. Does a similar arrangement exist with the BRI? That's partly why I want to know if Dan speaks Chinese.

@CaoAhMan Anyway, when life and government resume their normal stance in Victoria, I intend to write to the Premier and ask these questions myself. I suppose it's none of my business, being from SA, but it will be very relevant if he ever stands for federal parliament.

@CaoAhMan At this point I am not judging Dan Andrews by statements he's made on the BRI in the past, but what he says from now on will be of great interest to me.

I still think he's done a fantastic job as a leader and I really would like him to run for federal parliament.

@CaoAhMan So I hope there's nothing that would give me cause to change my mind. Because to say the BRI is still 'purely about jobs' in today's climate - I couldn't accept that. Not with China's ethnic cleansing. You can't ignore it.

Anyway, that's my take so far.

@CaoAhMan Wait, there is one more thing.

Even though I have questions, I don't doubt his intentions. I believe Dan Andrews has Victoria's, and Australia's, best interests at heart. I'm interested to know more about his history with China, but I'd be a hypocrite to condemn him for it.

@CaoAhMan People here have slammed me for my links to China (such as they are) & accused me of being a Communist. 🙄 Which is bullshit, not that they even know what Communism is. So I'm not making any judgments based on Dan's history w/China. There's too much Sinophobia here already.