The Kiwi Vassal

Campaign calling for New Zealand to protect China expert gathers pace

Anne-Marie Brady became a target after the release of a paper on Chinese foreign influence last year

By Eleanor Ainge Roy in Dunedin

 Anne-Marie Brady, professor on China at the University of Canterbury.

More than 150 global China experts have added their voices to demands that the New Zealand government protect Professor Anne-Marie Brady, a China scholar who has been the victim of a year-long harassment campaign.
Brady, an expert in Chinese politics at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, had her home and office burgled in February, and her car sabotaged last month.
Brady became a target after the release of a paper on Chinese foreign influence in 2017 and has asked the New Zealand’s government for extra security for herself and her family.

Jacinda Ardern urged to protect China critic after 'harassment'

After the government failed to respond, academics, human rights activists and journalists within New Zealand last week called on the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, to step in and provide security for Brady.
Now 150 China experts from around the world have signed an open letter calling for action.
The letter states that under Xi Jinping’s rule domestic repression in China has increased, “as illustrated by the fate of hundreds of human rights lawyers and activists rounded up in 2015”, as well as the “re-education” camps in East Turkestan.
At the same time, the Chinese government targeted critics overseas, the letter states.
“Another form of this escalation are the unprecedented attacks on foreign scholars and researchers of contemporary China, be it in the form of Cultural Revolution-style in-class harassment for their views and opinions, denial of visas, threatened or actual libel suits or, in some cases, detentions during research visits in mainland China.”
“Brady has become the target of a series of incidents which, taken together with attacks from Party-directed media, are consistent with an intimidation campaign.
“New Zealand authorities have been less than forthcoming in their support for a prominent scholar targeted by a foreign power, even adopting a dismissive posture – an attitude appreciated by PRC state media.”

The 165 signatories include global China experts from 17 countries, including American author, journalist and social commentator Bill Bishop, Danielle Cave from the International Cyber Policy Centre and Swedish human rights activist Peter Dahlin.
Last week Brady told the Guardian she and her family had requested security assistance from the government but it was not forthcoming. 

“I am really concerned about the safety of my family. About four months ago we asked for more protection from the New Zealand security intelligence service … We haven’t had a reply,” Brady said.
“We are doing everything we can to improve security in our home. But New Zealand is a very open society... We’re just doing the best that we can by ourselves, but we’re not security specialists.”

Open letter
By Sinopsis and Jichang Lulu

Under Xi Jinping’s rule, the PRC Party-state has intensified domestic repression to levels not seen in decades, as illustrated by the fate of hundreds of human rights lawyers and activists rounded up in 2015, or most shockingly, the build-up of “re-education” detention centers in East Turkestan, holding hundreds of thousands, perhaps over a million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Muslim minorities.
The wave of domestic repression has been accompanied by increasing efforts to limit freedom of expression even beyond the PRC’s borders, both in overseas Chinese communities, where independent media have been largely taken over by entities connected with the CCP United Front and Propaganda systems, and even among foreign entities, such as academic publishers or commercial firms.
Another form of this escalation are the unprecedented attacks on foreign scholars and researchers of contemporary China, be it in the form of Cultural Revolution-style in-class harassment for their views and opinions, denial of visas, threatened or actual libel suits or, in some cases, detentions during research visits in Mainland China.
In New Zealand, Anne-Marie Brady, an academic who investigated the CCP’s influence in local politics has become the target of a series of incidents which, taken together with attacks from Party-directed media, are consistent with an intimidation campaign. 

New Zealand authorities have been less than forthcoming in their support for a prominent scholar targeted by a foreign power, even adopting a dismissive posture – an attitude appreciated by PRC state media.
In response, we have initiated an open letter in support of Brady and her research. 

The letter, to be published on the Sinopsis website on Thursday 6 December, will remain open for signatures for approximately one week. 

The initial 169 signatories include academics, think-tankers, journalists, human-rights activists, politicians and others, based in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, Japan, Argentina, Canada and the United States.
We will continue to accept signatures for approximately a week after publication. 

The list of signatories will be regularly updated. 

To add your name to the list, please send your name and affiliation to open.letter.am.brady@gmail.com.

Open letter on harassment campaign against Anne-Marie Brady

We, the undersigned concerned scholars and others with an interest in China, have been alarmed and appalled by the recent wave of intimidation directed against our colleague, Professor Anne-Marie Brady, in apparent retaliation for her scholarly research on contemporary China.
Anne-Marie Brady, a scholar of Chinese politics affiliated with the University of Canterbury, has investigated the external propaganda and political influence mechanisms employed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in New Zealand and beyond. 

Her 2017 paper Magic Weapons, based on extensive Chinese and English-language sources and previous scholarship on the PRC political system, described the CCP’s use of United Front tactics to control extra-Party forces, intensified at home and abroad under current CCP secretary general Xi Jinping. 

Professor Brady has accompanied her research with specific policy recommendations on how the New Zealand government can deal with the CCP’s political influence operations. 

These policy recommendations have attracted wide interest far beyond New Zealand.
Since the publication of her work on global United Front work, Brady’s home and office have been subjected to burglaries, during which no valuable items other than electronic devices were stolen. Most recently, her car was found to have been tampered with in ways consistent with intentional sabotage. 

According to media reports, Interpol and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS) are involved in the investigation. 

In China, academics were interrogated by Ministry of State Security agents after their institutions hosted Brady. 

Brady has also been personally attacked in media under the direction of the CCP, both in the PRC and in New Zealand. 

Taken together, these circumstances make it likely that this harassment campaign constitutes a response to her research on the CCP’s influence, and an attempt to intimidate her into silence.
Despite the evidence of CCP interference provided in Brady’s research, of which the harassment campaign appears to be a further example, the New Zealand government has been slow to take action and failed to acknowledge that a problem exists. 

Professor Brady’s repeated requests for additional SIS and police protection have been ignored for four months.
Far from unique to New Zealand, the CCP’s global United Front tactics and other political influence operations have been documented in other locations, in Europe, Oceania, Asia and the Americas. Small nations are especially vulnerable to the PRC Party-state’s exploitation of asymmetries in economic power and relevant expertise to advance its political interests. 

Whether within or without the limits of the law of their target countries, these activities have considerable effects on their societies and merit evidence-based research and the attention of politicians and the media. 

The harassment campaign against Brady risks having a chilling effect on scholarly inquiry, allowing the CCP to interfere in the politics of our societies unfettered by informed scrutiny.
We urge the New Zealand authorities to grant Professor Brady the necessary protection to allow her to continue her research, sending a clear signal to fellow researchers that independent inquiry can be protected in democratic societies and conducted without fear of retribution.
We join other voices in support of Professor Brady, which have included statements by a New Zealand Chinese community organisation, some of her Canterbury University colleagues, New Zealand academics and two Australian Sinologists, as well as many others on social media.
We further hope decision makers and the public at large, in New Zealand and elsewhere, will engage with evidence-based research on the CCP’s United Front tactics, such as Brady’s Magic Weapons, and give due consideration to policy advice emanating from such research.

Signatories (169) as of 6pm, 5 Dec 2018 (CET)

Martin Hála, Charles University and Sinopsis.cz
Jichang Lulu, independent researcher
Filip Jirouš, Sinopsis.cz
Kateřina Procházková, Sinopsis.cz
Anna Zádrapová, Sinopsis.cz
Hernán Alberro, CADAL
Jamil Anderlini, journalist
Nathan Attrill, PhD Candidate, Australian National University
Ross Babbage, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Forum
David L. Bandurski, Co-Director, China Media Project
Michael Barr, FAHA, Flinders University
Michael Beckley, professor, Tufts University
Jean-Philippe Béja, Research Professor Emeritus, CNRS
Bill Bishop
Joseph Bosco, former China Country Director, Office of the Secretary of Defense
Julia Bowie, Center for Advanced China Research
Hal Brands, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Sarah M Brooks, International Service for Human Rights
Dr. Douglas Brown, John Abbott College, Sainte Anne de Bellevue, Quebec
Charles Burton, Brock University
Reinhard Bütikofer MEP, Bündnis90/Die Grünen
Darren Byler, Department of Anthropology, University of Washington
Harald Bøckman, Visiting Senior Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science / University of Oslo
Dag Inge Bøe, social anthropologist
Jean-Pierre Cabestan, Professor of Political Science, Hong Kong Baptist University
Alan Cantos, physical oceanographer and Director of the Spanish Tibet Support Committee (CAT)
Yaxue Cao, China Change
Kevin Carrico, Macquarie University
Danielle Cave, Deputy Head, International Cyber Policy Centre, The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and PhD Scholar, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, ANU
Lenka Cavojská, sinologist
Anita Chan (Prof.), Co-editor, The China Journal, Australian National University
Alvin Y.H. Cheung, Affiliated Scholar, US-Asia Law Institute, NYU School of Law
Jocelyn Chey, University of Sydney
Tarun Chhabra, policy analyst
Donald Clarke, Professor of Law and David A. Weaver Research Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School
Professor Jerome A. Cohen, NYU Law School
J Michael Cole, China Policy Institute (U Nott), Research Associate CEFC
Gabriel Collins, Rice University
Anders Corr, Corr Analytics
Demetrius Cox, independent researcher
Peter Dahlin, Director of Safeguard Defenders
June Teufel Dreyer, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Miami
Mathieu Duchâtel, Deputy Director, Senior Fellow, Asia and China Programme, European Council on Foreign Relations
Ryan Dunch, Professor, History and Classics, Director, Program in Religious Studies, University of Alberta
Ian Easton, Research Fellow, Project 2049 Institute
Elizabeth C. Economy, Council on Foreign Relations
Charles Edel, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney
Eric Edelman, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Kingsley Edney, University of Leeds
Johan Elverskog, Southern Methodist University
José Elías Esteve Moltó, Universitat de València
Feng Chongyi, University of Technology Sydney
Magnus Fiskesjö, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University
John Fitzgerald, Swinburne University of Technology
Martin Flaherty, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Lindsey Ford, Director for Political-Security Affairs, Asia Society Policy Institute
Ivan Franceschini, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Australian National University
Vanessa Frangville, Université libre de Bruxelles
Aaron Friedberg, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University
Edward Friedman, Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Dr Andreas Fulda, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham
Kateřina Gajdošová, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Charles University
Ursula Gauthier, grand reporter, L’Obs
David Gitter, Center For Advanced China Research
Louisa Greve, Uyghur Human Rights Project
Gerry Groot, University of Adelaide
A.Tom Grunfeld, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus
Guo Shan-yu, Charles University
Rosemary Haddon, (formerly) Massey University
Ian Hall, Professor of International Relations, Griffith University
Terry Halliday, Research Professor, American Bar Foundation, Honorary Professor, School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), Australian National University, Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University
Clive Hamilton, Professor of Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University, Canberra
Mette Halskov Hansen, University of Oslo
Mark Harrison, University of Tasmania
Jonathan Hassid, Iowa State University
Laurens Hemminga, City University of Hong Kong / Leiden University
Anne Henochowicz, Los Angeles Review of Books China Channel
Daniel Herman, former minister of culture, KDU-ČSL
Samantha Hoffman, analyst
Marie Holzman, Solidarité Chine, Paris
Leta Hong Fincher, independent sociologist
Charles Horner, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Fraser Howie, author and independent China analyst
Carlos Iglesias, human rights lawyer
J. Bruce Jacobs, Emeritus Professor of Asian Languages and Studies, School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University
Jakub Janda, Executive Director, Head of Kremlin Watch Program, European Values Think-tank
Rodney Jones, Wigram Capital Advisors (HK)
Alex Joske, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Elsa B. Kania, Harvard University
Karina Kapounová, sinologist, Charles University, Prague
Thierry Kellner, Université libre de Bruxelles
Jeffrey C. Kinkley, Portland State University
Ondřej Klimeš, Czech Academy of Sciences
František Kopřiva, MP, Czech Pirate Party
Zuzana Košková, University of Freiburg
Adam Kozieł, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Dr Mei-fen Kuo, The University of Queensland
Petr Kutílek, lecturer in transitional politics, Prague
Michael Laha, Program Officer at Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations
Françoise Lauwaert, Université libre de Bruxelles
Professor John Lee, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
James Leibold, La Trobe University
Steve Levine, Department of History, University of Montana, USA
Filip Lexa, Sinologist and Indonesia expert, Charles University, Prague
Jon R. Lindsay, Assistant Professor, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto
Perry Link, Princeton University
Olga Lomová, Charles University
Nicholas Loubere, Lund University
Julia Lovell, Birkbeck College, University of London
Maree Ma, Vision Times Media Corporation (Australia)
T M McClellan, PhD, Independent scholar, formerly Senior Lecturer (Chinese) in The University of Edinburgh
Barrett L. McCormick, Professor, Marquette University
Kevin McCready, former AusAID official, translator
Paul Macgregor, historian and heritage consultant, Victoria, Australia
Richard McGregor, Lowy Institute
Anne McLaren, Professor, Chinese Studies, FAHA, Asia Institute, University of Melbourne
Thomas G. Mahnken, Johns Hopkins SAIS
Victor H. Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania
Maurizio Marinelli, University of Sussex
Peter Mattis, Research Fellow, China Studies, Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Rory Medcalf, Australian National University
Jonathan Mirsky, historian of China, former journalist in China and Tibet
Michelle S. Mood, Political Science and Asian Studies, Kenyon College
Zbyněk Mucha, indologist and tibetologist, Charles University
Luisetta Mudie, translator
Ian Mukherjee, independent analyst
Andrew J. Nathan, Columbia University
Adam Ni, Visiting Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University
Cassy O’Connor MP, Tasmanian Greens Leader
Mareike Ohlberg
Max Oidtmann, Georgetown University
Jojje Olsson, journalist and author
Charlie Parton, Associate Fellow, RUSI
Gaia Perini, University of Bologna
Eva Pils, Professor of Law, King’s College London
Sophie Richardson, PhD, China Director, Human Rights Watch
Sean Roberts, The George Washington University
Kaz Ross, School of Humanities, University of Tasmania
Fergus Ryan, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Gabriel Salvia, Director General, CADAL
David Schak, Adjunct Associate Professor, Griffith Asia Institute
Matt Schrader, editor, Jamestown Foundation China Brief
Mark Selden, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, State University of New York at Binghamton
James D. Seymour, Columbia University
Victor Shih, associate professor, UC San Diego
Susan L. Shirk, Research Professor and Chair, 21st Century China Center, School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC-San Diego
Jan Sládek, Charles University Faculty of Arts, Department of Sociology, vice-dean for information resources
Prof. Martin Slobodník, Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia
Angela Stanzel, Senior Policy Fellow, Institut Montaigne
Janice Gross Stein, University of Toronto
Marina Svensson, Lund University
Josef Šlerka, Head of New Media Studies Department at Charles University
Hiroki Takeuchi, Southern Methodist University
Teng Biao, US-Asia Law Institute, New York University
Martin Thorley, University of Nottingham
Alan Tidwell, Director, Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Rory Truex, Princeton University
Glenn Tiffert, Hoover Institution
Aki Tonami, University of Tsukuba
Steve Tsang, Professor of Chinese Studies, SOAS University of London
Professor Jonathan Unger, Political & Social Change Department, Australian National University
Professor Arthur Waldron, University of Pennsylvania
Gerrit van der Wees, George Mason University
Andréa Worden, independent researcher
David Curtis Wright, University of Calgary
Teresa Wright, Department of Political Science, California State University
Michael Yahuda, Emeritus Professor, LSE, Visiting Scholar, Sigur Center for Asia Studies, The Elliott School, George Washington University
Wai Ling Yeung, Western Australia Department of Education
Lukáš Zádrapa, Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Charles University Prague