Writer
Wanning Sun
Wanning Sun FAHA is Professor of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, UTS.
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Red Alert: news media ‘Sleep-Walking’ into US war propaganda
One of the best-known writers on public opinion, Walter Lippmann, tells us that every conflict is fought on two fronts: the battlefield and the minds of people via propaganda. ‘We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy’s side of the front is always propaganda, and what is said on Continue reading »
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Pearls and Irritations refuses to follow the pack mentality
A tonic for readers who are drowning in news about China, climate change and socioeconomic problems… Continue reading »
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The Liberals’ review of Chinese-Australian voters betrays more blind spots
The Liberal Party’s problem with Chinese-Australian voters became apparent after its loss in the May 2022 federal election. Post-election number-crunching reveals that in 15 seats with large concentrations of Chinese-Australian voters, the swing against the Liberals was 6.6 percent, in contrast to 3.7 percent in other seats. Continue reading »
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“Bad China” makes good news stories — but who benefits and who suffers?
Positive energy is in the air in anticipation of a possible meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and many are evidently encouraged by the positive vibes from the recent telephone conversation between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong. Continue reading »
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Misconstruing China’s ‘demands’, Australian media beat the drums of war
After three years in deep freeze, Australia’s relationship with China may be starting to thaw, with the foreign affairs ministers finally talking to each other. Continue reading »
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What Scott did, and what Labor needs to undo: How to retain the Chinese-Australian Vote
‘Is there anything that you specifically think Anthony Albanese would do better?’ a journalist in the National Press Club asked Grace Tame, the 2021 Australian of the Year, and a fearless champion for women in Australia. Tame answered, ‘All Anthony would have to do is none of the things that Scott’s done.’ Continue reading »
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Ill informed media led a merry dance by ‘hack’ on Morrison’s WeChat account
The ‘hijacking’ of the Prime Minister’s account is a complicated story that, when simplified, fits neatly again into the anti-China narrative. Continue reading »
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Between watch dog and guard dog: the China threat and the Australian media
What is the role of Australian media, especially news media, in shaping a sense of who we are as a nation, amidst talk of a Cold War with China? Continue reading »
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Australian universities and the anxiety of Chinese influence
Sometime in 2010, a graduate journalism student from China asked to meet with me. She needed to interview at least two people for one of her assignments, and her chosen topic was the media in China and freedom of expression. She told me that she had already spoken with the well-known Australian writer Frank Moorhouse Continue reading »
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Fear and Loathing: Australian media on China and Covid-19
The way various segments of the Australian media report on China’s COVID-19 experience reflects these media’s own fears and anxieties and their political, ideological, and cultural positions. More credible media outlets in Australia have mostly framed China’s efforts in political and ideological terms. Continue reading »
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WeChat’s Potential for Social Activism and Civic Action in the Chinese Diaspora (GJIA Dec 10, 2020)
WeChat is predominantly used by Mandarin speakers both within and outside China. Although this social media platform is owned by a Chinese company and is subject to China’s censorship and scrutiny, it nevertheless has the potential to enable social activism and civic action in the Chinese diaspora across the globe. Continue reading »
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Many Australians with a Chinese background feel caught ‘between a rock and a hard place’
I was invited to give the annual 2020 Henry Chan lecture at a time when Chinese-Australians had well and truly become objects of suspicion and distrust. I have been doing research on Chinese-language media in the Chinese diaspora for two decades. Continue reading »
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“When a scholar meets a soldier …”: Why I’ve decided not to speak to the senate inquiry on diaspora communities in Australia (ABC Oct 21, 2020)
What purpose does Senator Abetz’s questioning of Chinese Australians serve, other than to make them feel that they will never belong, no matter how long they have lived here or how hard they have tried? Continue reading »
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Issues with the Chinese diaspora’s political participation
Australia’s public diplomacy agenda does not seem to have translated into concrete policies in regard to the Chinese diaspora, argues this excerpt from a submission to a current Senate inquiry. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN.-Response to ‘Red Flag: Waking Up to China’s Challenge’ by Peter Hartcher
Following the logic of his own argument, can we assume that Hartcher now wants to recant the position he has advanced in the Quarterly Essay? Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN.-China’s journey through Covid-19: A tale of one city and one family. (ABC Religion and Ethics 18.3.2020)
A difficult question is whether we can achieve similar results(as China) without the heavy-handed top-down control and significant incursions into individual liberty and freedom as we have seen in the City Y. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Australia’s nation-building must start re-imagining Chinese-Australians as part of the ‘national self’, not the nation’s ‘internal Other
Australia is now home to more than 1.3 million citizens of Chinese heritage. They have been profoundly alienated. Continue reading »
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Adversarial journalism in the coverage of China
Australian media’s coverage of China has shifted to adversarial journalism. To change this status quo requires leadership and serious action. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. China finding its place in the world.
China. Chinese Australians are feeling the heat, whether they support China or Australia Chinese migration to Australia has always been an essential part of Australian multicultural history. Various diasporic Chinese communities in Australia have played important roles in Australia’s political, social, cultural and economic maturations. Yet now their loyalty to Australia has been unfairly questioned. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. New research shows Chinese migrants don’t always side with China and are ha ppy to promote Australia
The Australian government has indicated that “diaspora communities” are crucial to Australia’s public diplomacy mission to promote the country abroad. It has also identified online and social media as essential “public diplomacy tools”. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Another Non-Story on China – An Example of Selective Framing
An ABC news story, ‘Chinese media mocks Australia and Prime Minister in WeChat posts’, fails to mention a few key points, and as a result, is potentially misleading, even confusing. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Chinese social media platform WeChat could be a key battleground in the federal election (The Conversation, 28 March 2019)
Labor leader Michael Daley’s “young Asians with PhDs taking our jobs” blunder cost him dearly in the recent NSW state election. His defeat also offered a taste of the crucial role the Chinese social networking platform WeChat could play in the forthcoming federal election. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN AND HAIQING YU. WeChat, the Federal Election, and the Danger of Insinuative Journalism
A story appeared recently in The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) with an eye-catching title: ‘Warning WeChat could spread Chinese propaganda during federal election’. By linking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda with a forthcoming Australian election, the story draws heavily on views from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, and represents a new and dangerous development in Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN AND HAIQING YU. Mandarin-speaking voters in Victoria: WeChat, new influencers and some lessons for politicians.
The state election in Victoria saw a dramatic swing to Labor in areas with a high concentration of Chinese-speaking migrants. Mount Waverley saw a 6.4% swing to Labor and Box Hill 7.7%. As participant observers in WeChat discussions, we offer some reflections on the role of Chinese social media, WeChat, in this political process and Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. PM Morrison’s Strange Speech to China and the Chinese: A Selective Charm Offensive?
Last week, on 4 October, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, accompanied by Immigration Minister David Coleman, paid a visit to Hurstville in south Sydney, dropped in on some local Chinese shops, and had lunch with around 80 people—members and leaders of the local Chinese community. The event generated quite a buzz among the Chinese communities but Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Blind Spots in Australia’s Soft Power Strategies.
Blessed with an enviable healthy and relaxed lifestyle, beautiful landscape, and clean environment, Australia has rich soft power assets and resources. Yet, more than ever before, Australia faces unprecedented challenges in its soft power efforts. The China factor cannot be ignored, even when we are considering Australia’s soft power initiatives in places other than China. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Reasons aplenty for China’s ban of the ABC.
As a form of symbolism, banning a website works much more effectively than conventional expressions of official displeasure such as flexing military muscles, cancelling a trade deal, recalling a country’s ambassador or refusing a foreign correspondent’s visa. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. New Model of Public Diplomacy Is Needed in the Digital Era.
The Department of Communications is now reviewing submissions on the issue of Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia-Pacific region. In my submission, I argue that public diplomacy in the digital era requires not simply a rejigging of the current broadcast transmission model; it also requires a complete paradigm shift. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Megaphone diplomacy is good for selling papers, but harmful for Australia-China relations.
The issue of China’s influence in Australia is complex. It ranges from worries about national security, political donations and media infiltration to concerns about scientific collaborations, Confucius Institutes, the patriotism of Chinese students, and allegiance of the Chinese community. The most recent trope is China’s so-called “debt trap” diplomacy with Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific. Continue reading »
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WANNING SUN. Is Anti-China Rhetoric Harming Social Cohesion in Australia?
In September 2016, I published a major report on the Chinese-language media in Australia, and one of the points I made there was that the state Chinese media have been making gradual inroads into Australia’s existing ethnic Chinese newspapers and radio programs. Many commentators have cited this trend as evidence of China’s influence within our Continue reading »
