“A Treacherous Performance at the Theatre of Tyranny” - 3 September 2025

Kia Ora, tēnā koutou katoa,

The images emerging from Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025, should haunt every New Zealander who still believes in tino rangatiratanga and democratic values. Former New Zealand Prime Ministers Helen Clark and John Key stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the world's most brutal dictators, legitimizing an authoritarian spectacle designed to challenge Western democracy and announce a new world order built on oppression.

This shameful episode demands urgent analysis through a Māori lens of kaitiakitanga - our responsibility to protect what is sacred and speak truth to power, no matter how uncomfortable that truth may be for those who have traded our sovereignty for Chinese gold.

Background: The Neoliberal Trap Springs Shut

To understand how we arrived at this moment of national humiliation, we must examine the neoliberal economic framework that has systematically hollowed out New Zealand's independence since the 1980s. The very politicians now bowing before autocrats are products of a system that prioritizes profit over principle, trade over tino rangatiratanga.

China's military parade was explicitly designed as an "affirmation of a China-centred authoritarian axis", yet Clark defended her attendance by claiming engagement with "our major trade partner is very important." This reveals the devastating success of neoliberal conditioning - where economic dependency becomes the excuse for moral bankruptcy.

The concept of whakapapa - our interconnectedness and responsibility to future generations - should guide our foreign policy decisions. Instead, we have witnessed the triumph of individual gain over collective wellbeing, a betrayal of fundamental Māori values that prioritize the mauri (life force) of our communities over corporate profits.

A Gallery of Tyrants Masquerading as Diplomacy

The Beijing military parade brought together leaders of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran for the first time - a rogues' gallery that University of Canterbury professor Anne-Marie Brady correctly identified as representing an authoritarian axis challenging Western democratic values.

The Beijing military parade revealed itself as a gathering of the world's most authoritarian regimes

Clark and Key's presence alongside Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un was not mere diplomatic protocol but active participation in a propaganda exercise designed to legitimize authoritarianism and intimidate democracies worldwide. The timing is particularly sinister - this parade occurred on the very ground where Chinese troops massacred hundreds, possibly thousands, of pro-democracy protesters in 1989.

The 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre - where democracy died and authoritarianism was born

For Māori, who understand the pain of colonial violence and the suppression of indigenous rights, the symbolism is devastatingly clear. Our former leaders chose to stand where democracy was murdered, celebrating the regime that pulled the trigger.

The Anatomy of Our Surrender: How Trade Became Chains

New Zealand's economic dependency on China has grown from 5% of exports in 2008 to 33% in 2025, representing over $35 billion in bilateral trade. This is not economic partnership - it is economic colonization, and our political elite have become willing collaborators in our own subjugation.

New Zealand's escalating economic dependency on China reveals a dangerous surrender of sovereignty

Dr Reuben Steff accurately diagnosed that New Zealand "sleep-walked into a position where it is torn between its economic dependence on China and its traditional allies". But this was no accident - it was the predictable result of neoliberal policies that prioritized short-term profits over long-term sovereignty.

The concept of utu - balance and reciprocity - demands that we examine what we have given up in exchange for Chinese money. We have surrendered our moral authority, compromised our democratic values, and allowed our foreign policy to be dictated by Beijing's economic blackmail. Former US National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster warned that New Zealand faces a choice "between sovereignty and servitude" - our former Prime Ministers have chosen servitude.

Clark and Key: The Merchants of Moral Bankruptcy

Helen Clark's pathetic justification that she was "paying her own way to Beijing" misses the point entirely. The cost was not measured in airfare but in national dignity. By attending this authoritarian love-fest, she provided international legitimacy to a regime that systematically oppresses ethnic minorities, crushes democratic movements, and uses economic coercion against smaller nations.

John Key's presence was equally damaging. As the architect of New Zealand's deeper integration with China during his tenure as Prime Minister, Key's attendance sends a clear message that New Zealand's political elite view authoritarian money as more valuable than democratic principles.

Both politicians embody the worst aspects of neoliberal thinking - the belief that economic engagement automatically leads to positive political outcomes, even when dealing with brutal dictatorships. This naive faith in market fundamentalism has blinded them to the reality that China uses economic relationships as weapons of political coercion.

The Authoritarian Axis: Understanding the Enemy

Xi Jinping has systematically dismantled the collective leadership structures that constrained previous Chinese leaders, returning to personalistic rule reminiscent of Mao Zedong. This concentration of power increases the risk of miscalculated wars and eliminates internal checks on authoritarian excess.

The unholy trinity of authoritarianism: Xi, Putin, and Kim cementing their alliance against democracy

The presence of Putin and Kim Jong Un alongside Xi creates what analysts call an "Axis of Upheaval" designed to challenge Western democratic institutions. Trump himself acknowledged this reality, stating on social media: "Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America".

From a Māori perspective, this alliance represents the antithesis of manaakitanga - the values of hospitality, care, and protection of the vulnerable. These regimes systematically violate indigenous rights, suppress religious freedom, and use state violence against their own peoples.

The Symbolism of Tiananmen: Dancing on Democracy's Grave

The choice of Tiananmen Square as the venue for this authoritarian pageant was deliberate and deeply symbolic. This is the same location where Chinese troops opened fire on peaceful pro-democracy protesters in 1989, killing hundreds, possibly thousands.

For 35 years, China has suppressed all discussion of the Tiananmen massacre, turning the site of democracy's murder into a stage for authoritarianism's triumph. By attending this event, Clark and Key became complicit in this historical whitewashing.

The principle of whakatōhea - standing up for what is right regardless of personal cost - demanded that our former leaders boycott this blood-soaked spectacle. Instead, they chose comfort over conscience, trade over truth.

The Five Eyes Militarization: Our Response to Chinese Aggression

While our political elite kowtow to Beijing, New Zealand has simultaneously been drawn deeper into US-led military initiatives designed to counter Chinese expansion. The government plans to double defense spending to 2% of GDP, joining space warfare projects and participating in massive military exercises targeting China.

Military spending reveals the escalating arms race between China and the Five Eyes alliance

This schizophrenic approach - appeasing China economically while preparing for war militarily - reflects the fundamental contradiction at the heart of neoliberal foreign policy. We cannot simultaneously serve two masters, yet our leaders persist in this dangerous delusion.

Recent Chinese naval exercises in the Tasman Sea demonstrate Beijing's growing willingness to project military power into our region, yet our economic dependence makes meaningful resistance nearly impossible.

Anne-Marie Brady: The Prophet We Should Have Heeded

Professor Anne-Marie Brady, whose research exposed China's political influence operations in New Zealand, has faced intimidation and harassment for speaking truth about Chinese interference. Her home and office were burglarized in what she believes was retaliation for her academic work.

Brady's warning that Clark and Key's attendance risked "validating a world view at odds with New Zealand's" has proven prophetic. Their presence provided propaganda value to a regime that views New Zealand as a testing ground for divide-and-conquer strategies against Western democracies.

The principle of kōrero - speaking truth regardless of consequences - demands that we listen to scholars like Brady rather than politicians whose judgment has been compromised by Chinese money.

The Māori Perspective: Recognizing Colonial Patterns

For Māori, the pattern is achingly familiar. Just as British colonists used economic incentives and political manipulation to undermine indigenous authority in the 19th century, China employs similar tactics in the 21st. Some Māori commentators accurately describe "neoliberal practices as a new form of colonisation".

The Beijing parade represents the culmination of this neo-colonial project - our former leaders literally bowing before the new imperial power, just as their predecessors once genuflected to British authority. The venue's historical significance makes this betrayal even more obscene.

Te Tiriti o Waitangi established principles of partnership and shared authority that should guide all our international relationships. Instead, Clark and Key have demonstrated that they view New Zealand as a commodity to be traded to the highest bidder, regardless of the human rights cost.

Hidden Connections: The Web of Complicity

The timing of this parade, occurring just as New Zealand faces increasing pressure from its Five Eyes partners to take a harder line against China, reveals the sophisticated nature of Beijing's influence operations.

Clark's attendance serves Chinese propaganda purposes by demonstrating that even progressive Western politicians can be bought with sufficient economic incentives. Key's presence reinforces the message that center-right politicians prioritize business relationships over human rights concerns.

Both politicians have extensive post-political business interests that benefit from positive China relationships. Clark's various international positions and Key's corporate directorships create obvious conflicts of interest when they claim to represent "New Zealand" at such events.

Recent open letters from Clark and other former officials urging the current government to avoid "adversarial stance" against China reveal the extent to which Beijing has captured New Zealand's political elite across party lines.

The Broader Implications: A Nation Losing Its Soul

This episode reveals the bankruptcy of New Zealand's approach to China under both Labour and National governments. We have become strategically dependent on a nation that fundamentally opposes our values, creating what Brady calls "coercive power over our economy."

The normalization of authoritarianism through economic integration represents a form of spiritual colonization that threatens the very foundation of our democratic society. When our former Prime Ministers can stand comfortably beside dictators responsible for genocide, political oppression, and territorial aggression, we have lost our moral compass entirely.

For Māori, this represents a particular betrayal. Our ongoing struggle for tino rangatiratanga - self-determination and sovereignty - is fundamentally incompatible with supporting regimes that crush indigenous rights and democratic movements.

The principle of mana - dignity and spiritual power - cannot coexist with the craven submission to authoritarian power that Clark and Key displayed in Beijing.

A Call to Action: Reclaiming Our Rangatiratanga

New Zealand must immediately reassess its relationship with China and reject the false choice between economic prosperity and moral integrity. True independence requires diversifying our trade relationships and building partnerships with nations that share our democratic values.

We must also hold our former political leaders accountable for their role in legitimizing authoritarianism. Clark and Key's attendance at this parade was not diplomatic engagement but moral surrender, and they should be condemned accordingly.

Most importantly, we must reject the neoliberal logic that reduces all relationships to economic transactions. Some principles - democracy, human rights, indigenous sovereignty - cannot be traded away for Chinese dollars, no matter how desperately our politicians crave Beijing's approval.

The path forward requires embracing the Māori values of manaakitanga, whakatōhea, and kaitiakitanga - caring for others, standing up for what is right, and protecting what is sacred. This means refusing to normalize relationships with regimes that systematically violate human rights, even when such relationships promise economic benefits.

The Māori Green Lantern Fighting Misinformation And Disinformation From The Far Right

The Price of Dignity

Helen Clark and John Key's shameful performance in Beijing has exposed the rottenness at the heart of New Zealand's neoliberal foreign policy establishment. Their willingness to legitimize authoritarianism for economic gain represents a betrayal of democratic values and a surrender of national dignity that should anger every New Zealander who believes in justice and freedom.

The spectacle of former Kiwi Prime Ministers shaking hands with dictators while standing on the graves of democracy protesters reveals how completely our political elite have been captured by Chinese influence operations. They have chosen servitude over sovereignty, profit over principle, and temporary economic gain over enduring moral integrity.

As tangata whenua have always understood, true strength comes not from bowing to the powerful but from standing with the oppressed. The time has come to reject the false prophets of neoliberalism who would sell our souls for Chinese silver and reclaim our rightful place as a nation that stands with democracy, human rights, and indigenous sovereignty.

Naku noa, na

Ivor Jones
The Māori Green Lantern
Kaitiaki of Truth

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