A look at China's pervasive attempts to exert its influence around the world | American Military News

A look at China's pervasive attempts to exert its influence around the world | American Military News
"A foreign government accused of infiltrating schools, the legislature and the media, using its agents to monitor students and influence politicians.
It looked like a campaign of espionage and interference that a top intelligence official warned could “cause serious harm to the nation’s sovereignty, the integrity of our political system, our national security capabilities, our economy and other interests.”
Forget, for a moment anyway, Russia meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential race. 
This was China meddling in Australia.
...Here’s a primer on the situation:
Q: What happened?
A: In June, Fairfax Media and the Australian Broadcasting Corp., two of the country’s most influential news organizations, published a five-month investigation detailing China’s campaign.
The stories described threats against parents in China for their sons’ involvement in democracy protests in Australia, the detention of a Chinese-born academic during a visit there, donations from pro-Beijing businesses to the campaigns of Australian senators, and the party’s grip over Chinese-language media on the island.
The country’s domestic spy chief, Duncan Lewis, told lawmakers in June that espionage and foreign interference were occurring at “an unprecedented scale” and were a threat to the country’s institutions, politics and economy..."
Read on!