The ‘Please Explain’ cartoon series has tackled the issue of China more than once, in particular with this episode featuring former Labor prime minister Paul Keating’s sycophantic worship of the country’s communist regime. 

Keating continues to relish his self-appointed role as a spokesman for Chinese hegemony, only recently saying that Taiwan was “Chinese real estate.”

Taiwan was actually Japanese territory from 1895 to 1945, ceded by the last Chinese imperial dynasty after its defeat in the Sino-Japanese War. It was where the Chinese nationalists under Chiang Kai-shek retreated after their defeat by the Mao Zedong’s communists in the Chinese civil war in 1949. It’s resisted communism ever since.

In reality, Taiwan has effectively been an independent nation since the 1950s. It has all the features of a modern nation-state. It’s technologically advanced, highly industrialised, socially cohesive, and democratic. Taiwan’s independence just isn’t recognised by the United Nations or most countries in the world, including Australia.

Most of the world instead adheres to a polite fiction called the ‘One China policy’. This holds that communist China and democratic Taiwan are one country. It’s maintained only to appease the communist regime ruling China, which has vowed to conquer Taiwan no matter the cost.

China is rapidly building its military capacity, with Taiwan’s capture firmly in its sights. It conducts frequent military exercises near Taiwan to harass the island nation and test its defenses. It’s dangerous brinkmanship that risks lives, including those of Australian defense personnel conducting freedom-of-navigation exercises in the South China Sea.

The only thing holding China in check is Taiwan’s own formidable military, backed by the United States. However, it is a major flashpoint for a regional conflict that could very easily engulf Australia.

Taiwan is important to us because it’s our sixth-largest export market. It’s a fellow democracy in our own region, and an important source of Australia’s refined petroleum imports.

This week in Parliament, Senator Pauline Hanson called for Australia to formally recognise Taiwan’s independence. By the standards of normal international diplomacy, it’s a controversial position, but Pauline has never been one for polite diplomatic conformity. One Nation supports self-determination and independence for the 24 million free people of Taiwan.