Writer
Teow Loon Ti
Teow Loon Ti was a researcher in aquaculture; and a teacher. Teow Loon Ti has a BSc.(Hon) in Zoology, an MA(Lit. & Comm.) and a PhD in Education.
-
The contracting echo chambers of the Transatlantic powers
“Speak softly and carry a big stick.” The pithy words spoken by US President Theodore Roosevelt in 1901 has been said to be his ideal policy for the US. But in recent years, the “big stick” diplomacy has proven to be too simplistic for the world they used to dominate. Continue reading »
-
A mind held captive
Edward Said’s “Orientalism” encapsulates the essence of why the West resists the rise of China as a major economic and military power. Continue reading »
-
The American way: exporting US dysfunction to the world
The United States of America is not well, a fact that even as an acolyte the Australian government does not seem to be aware or care about, on account of our unconditional love for the Americans. Continue reading »
-
Chinese voters in Australian democracy
The last Federal election in 2022 saw a massive swing of voters of Chinese heritage away from the Coalition to Labor and Independents. The pattern was the same in the recent NSW state election and the Aston by-election in Victoria. All these indicate is that a long suffering marginalised victim of Australia’s geopolitics has finally Continue reading »
-
The US wants TikTok banned or sold
The United States’ issue with TikTok is uncannily reflective of its ongoing problem with China. It grew too fast for their comfort, is too economically and technologically successful and so deeply enmeshed in their lives that they felt the impulse to disengage. Continue reading »
-
The Australian media cries wolf
The major Australian media, SMH and The Age, are crying wolf again. Whether they will lose their credibility depends on whether Australians’ rationale prevails over their prejudices. Continue reading »
-
Sanitising the unforgettable
I hope this article will turn out to be a short communication because my hand trembles with indignation as I write. I refer to the article “Why history does not disqualify Japan as an ally: a reply to Richard Cullen” by Robert Cribb Feb 21, 2023. Continue reading »
-
Democracy and the winning formula
The rallying call of the Western democracies to form a united front against those who dare to challenge their supremacy has always been “common values”. Our hearts burst with pride and gratitude to think that we have the freedom of speech, of assembly, of dissent and other such privileges that those in other systems do Continue reading »
-
Does the Taiwan issue have to be a ménage à trois?
The rising tension over Taiwan is not the making of either of the two Chinese parties to the dispute. After all, the fundamental problem has been the same since its inception. It was an unfinished civil war between two political factions, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China, over control of the country after Continue reading »
-
East is east, West is west: China and the West are not ‘competitors’
When the US and its like-minded allies express the desire to compete with China, what they seem to overlook, or wilfully ignore, is the fact that China is really only competing with itself. Continue reading »
-
The scourge of hegemony
While it is obvious to most people that geopolitical tension in the Asia-Pacific region is rising, and that there is a real threat of a conflict between the power blocks in the world, much less credence is given to the idea that the problem is inflicted on us by the hitherto dominant economies of the Continue reading »
-
A murder with US collusion to reflect upon
On the 17th of January, 1961, the first elected Prime Minister of newly independent Democratic Republic of Congo, was assassinated with the direct involvement of the Belgian government and collusion of the United States (Damian Zane, BBC, 20/06/2022). It is a damning indictment of the European and American claim to human rights and democratic values. Continue reading »
-
The Australian electorate is being misled by its media
A well informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy. Yet, on China, Australians are being misled by our mainstream media. Continue reading »
-
A century of humiliation left profound legacies of trauma
Grenville Cross’s “Britain’s opium era strategy to deal with China” (Pearls and Irritation, 28/09/2022) touched a cord in many Chinese, regardless of where they come from. It explains why many of us described as “Overseas Chinese” feel the need to explain when we are affronted by unjust comments about China and the Chinese people. Continue reading »
-
The Defence Strategic Review: Is China the real enemy?
China is not Australia’s enemy. If it is an enemy, and Australia continues to trade with China as it does, it reflects a schizophrenic attitude that we have to sort out first before spending vast amounts of money preparing to fight China. In preparing our Defence Force, there is no room for complacency. Neither is Continue reading »
-
Teow Loon Ti: Nancy Pelosi, the Straw that Taiwan clutched
Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, delivered a resounding slap to the face of Xi Jinping and left, leaving the Taiwanese to pick up the pieces of the damage she did to the Taiwan/China relationship. Continue reading »
-
The them and us narrative
The scourge that looms large in the present conflicts between the West and Russia/China is the “Them” and “Us” narrative that seems to pervade analysis of geopolitics. Continue reading »
-
Good values, bad values and common values
In the wake of Stephen Fitzgerald’s thought provoking article “Getting the Australia-China Relationship back on track” which mentioned our new Prime Minister speaking in a megaphone manner in Tokyo of Australian values, this is perhaps a good time to talk about values. Continue reading »
-
Is the Solomon Islands an Australian colony?
By the end of the 19th century, the Western Nations and Japan managed to carve up most of the world into colonies among themselves. While that was no longer possible after World War II, a new strategy for domination, euphemistically called “spheres of influence”, has replaced colonialism with largely similar but more subtle outcomes. Continue reading »
-
Why intemperate views on China will cost Chinese votes
In his recent addresses about China, especially in his National Press Club address in November last year and Nine newspaper in February 2022, Defence Minister Peter Dutton’s tough talk would not go down well with Chinese voters. It could cost the LNP votes in the marginal seats where Chinese votes make a difference. Continue reading »
-
Failed diplomacy led to war in Ukraine. It could happen again over Taiwan as the US goads China
As the war wages on in Ukraine, our hearts go out to the innocent men. women and children who are killed, maimed or displaced by the war Continue reading »
-
Playing the Chinese Card: An Unconscionable and Hazardous Enterprise
For a person who hailed from Malaysia, driven to Australia by the push and pull of racial discrimination and liberal democracy respectively, the recent playing of the Chinese card by both major parties in Australia even before the next election campaigns are in full-throttle engenders a feeling of deja vu. Continue reading »
-
Are Ukraine and Taiwan mirror images of each other?
These words attributed to King Solomon in the Old Testament: “All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eyes never have enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (as Continue reading »
-
The Jews of Asia: why Chinese Australians feel threatened
Playing the Chinese card may be politically rewarding for some, but it is the ordinary people in the street who suffer the consequences of this Sinophobia. Continue reading »
-
Making an enemy of China: how we got into this mess
Australia’s attitude to China has many contradictions. As Australia beats the drums of war, it continues to sell its iron ore to China. Continue reading »
-
What is Xi Jinping to the Chinese people?
Many analysts assert that since Xi Jinping became the Secretary General of the CCP, China has become increasingly assertive in its foreign policy. Continue reading »
-
A long march: China’s unfinished business on Taiwan reunification
Modern-day gunboat diplomacy largely ignores the historical circumstances and emotive aspects of the divide of Taiwan and China. Continue reading »
-
The cringe comes back: has Australia misunderstood its place in Asia again?
With the ever-worsening Australia-China relationship, this may be the right time to examine what is it in the Australian cultural behaviour that has landed us in this predicament. Continue reading »
-
The Singapore mouse that taught the China elephant
Compare Singapore’s dextrous diplomacy with the clumsy manner in which the Australian government handles its relationship with China. Continue reading »
-
Human rights by US vice president: the last refuge of scoundrels
Kamala Harris’s trip through South-east Asia, touting the US’s commitment to human rights, was full of ironies. Continue reading »
