Reference :- Chris Kenny was shocked that Australian politicians Andrew Hastie and James Patterson were refused visas to visit China for a " study tour ".

Reference :-  Why would the Chinese authorities not grant visas to a couple of harmless aussie politicians who probably just want to study the evolution of Ming dynasty ceramics ?   Perhaps they have legitimate concerns ?

 Personally  Chris , James and Andrew strike me as an irritating , opinionated pair of young right wing twats.  But  should that mean they are denied a visa ?  Usually authorities will deny visas to people who they feel could be a genuine security risk . So let's look at these young chaps more closely .  

  James Patterson chairs the parliamentary joint committee on security and intelligence .  I think intelligence is occasionally connected with spying .  Andrew Hastie has held the position of captain in the Australian Army , where he was an operations officer supporting intelligence.  There's that spying thing again .   So would our own country open its doors to a couple of  similarly credentialed Chinese visitors on a " study tour ".     I suggest not .  Australian authorities are quite tight fisted when it comes to handing out visas.  Especially if they don't like the cut of your ideological jib .   A few weeks back , Berlin based award winning journalist Mimi Mefo  was refused a visa to come to Australia to speak about censorship and freedom of the press at a Griffith University conference .    Veteran journalist  Kerry O'Brien was appalled .   Australia has slid down the list to 21st , two behind Uruguay, in our freedom of the press world ranking . I guess our authorities didn't want her mentioning this uncomfortable fact in her lecture .   Chinese authorities  asking a couple of unrepentant loudmouths ,who compare them with Nazis , to be polite  before they can have a visa, (which they are still prepared to issue ) , seems pretty mild  by comparison .  Don't you reckon , Chris ?    

 Your comrade , Ken