Australian media shoot from the hip

Early this month an investigation by Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Fairfax Media into political donations in the country, not surprisingly, sparked speculations that donations by Chinese nationals are interfering in Australian politics.

At an event in Canberra later, China's ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye dismissed such "Chinese interference" claims as "groundless platitude", calling them an attempt to reheat old, tasteless allegations. People labeling and disseminating such allegations could put China-Australia cooperation at stake, he said.

The truth is, Australia's free media cannot justify the "China panic" hype. Although they claim the investigation is in the national interest, most of their allegations have not been endorsed by judicial or security authorities for lack of sound evidence. This means the media have made the allegations after cobbling up so-called probes into foreign influence on Australian politics.