Fred Zhang's recent articles
12 September 2025
If we want to win the Pacific, we must first listen – and stop blaming China for everything
A 9 September editorial in The Sydney Morning Herald, titled China and Australia in a high-speed race to win control of the Pacific, offered a vivid picture of the daily contest for influence in the region.
5 September 2025
Miners want to go green, then we hear News Corp's 'China!' scream
Another week, another national security threat, cooked freshly with local ingredients, News Corp’s signature technique, a lot of aged China-threat cliché, and a hint of unprofessional typo.
29 August 2025
Australia is one trade deal away from backing authoritarians, says Taiwan
In the grand tradition of diplomatic overreach, Taiwan's deputy foreign minister recently offered some sweet and spicy talking points to our media: semiconductors are tanks, China is akin to WWII Germany, and if Australia doesn't fast-track Taiwan into the CPTPP, we might all wake up speaking Mandarin under a fascist AI regime, as reported by News Corp and 7 News.
22 August 2025
Pay up, shut up, speak up against China, or we won't get the subs (some wise Americans demand)
Australia's $368 billion submarine program is apparently wobbling again, not because US shipyards can't keep up, or because a future president could cancel the deal with the flick of a pen.
15 August 2025
Breaking: Chilling ‘News Virus’ sweeps Australia
Chikungunya is a virus first identified in 1952 in what is now Tanzania, carried by mosquitoes, long since a globetrotter.
8 August 2025
Australia needs better China coverage. This ABC story just gave us less
The South China Sea is complicated. The ABC made it simple – and not in a good way. When public media reduces regional disputes to black-and-white, it risks turning policy into performance.
1 August 2025
Britain’s back, China’s the target. We’ll likely pay the price again
Britain's HMS Prince of Wales has docked in Darwin, flanked by other warships and declarations.
25 July 2025
BREAKING: Albo doesn’t yell at Xi — (part of) nation panics
Albanese in China: 6 days, 1 panda, 0 shouting. (Some) media outrage level: critical.
18 July 2025
Round up the usual Chinese suspects
It’s a big week for headlines – and an even bigger week for fear. With Prime Minister Albanese landing in China, our media wasted no time rounding up their usual suspects.
11 July 2025
Every day is a bad day to visit China, apparently
Meeting the Chinese president is apparently now treason. At least, that's what you'd think if you followed some of our media's coverage of Anthony Albanese's latest diplomatic sin: talking to Beijing.
3 July 2025
So... calling for peace isn’t enough, but dropping bombs gets a free pass?
When China submitted a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Iran, the response wasn't debate or discussion. It was suspicion.
28 June 2025
No time to dye: ABC’s China bias is licensed to kill credibility
The ABC has long held a reputation as Australia’s sober, publicly-funded bulwark against tabloid sensationalism – the broadcaster you turn to when you want analysis, not alarmism.
21 June 2025
News Corp’s China obsession: why beating the drum is easier than thinking
Introducing our new columnist Fred Zhang, who brings you his take on the way the Australian media reports and/or mis- and under- reports on China.