I am alarmed and saddened by some of the recent editorial interpretations of background reasons for Australian swimmer Mack Horton's verbal attacks on Sun Yang at the Olympic Games. I respectfully suggest that the Chinese press is making tactical and strategic errors that could have far-reaching consequences for relations between the people of our two countries.

I agree that Horton's comments and "mind games" are unacceptable and he should be called to account. Much more importantly, however, the extension of Horton's failings to the people of Australia generally are inaccurate and very hurtful.

They are also damaging to China as they are readily used by the Western media to portray China as racist and intolerant, and even potentially aggressive. The general thrust of the editorial position of the Global Times is that Australians could be expected to be uncouth and ignorant as many are descended from "criminals" transported to Australia by the British colonialists.

This position wrongly equates the mass of the Australian people with the current ruling classes and ignores the objective situation that Australia is dominated economically and culturally by the US and multinational corporations.

It denies that Australia has a class structure wherein many Australians struggle for a decent living, and that it has a proud history of opposing oppression both internally and against Japanese and German fascism. It also does not sufficiently point out that the monopoly media of Rupert Murdoch work tirelessly to enforce continuing acceptance of imperial dominance of the country and to poison relations between Australians and the people and government of China and other selected countries.

Of course Australian history has dark shadows. The convicts sent to Australia where mainly poor farmers and workers who had committed petty property offences as a result of destitution bought about by the dislocation associated with the decline of feudalism and rise of industrial capitalism in England.

Together with the convicts came representatives of the British ruling classes and it was they who proceeded to occupy the best land, conduct genocide against the Aboriginal peoples, and oversee and profit from the introduction of capitalism into the colonies. The political development and economic structure was shaped by these classes in their image and interests. These classes and their descendants have carefully controlled Australia's society through the period of nominal independence around 1900 to today.

Following WWII they consciously transferred allegiance from the dying British Empire to the rising US "empire." The "unwanted criminals" transported to Australia, and their descendants, are in fact the heroes of the country to date. It was they who formed the backbone of the workers' unions in a life-and-death struggle with the huge landowners and owners of capital in the early years of the country. Their struggle was heavily suppressed with words, jail, and sometimes bullets. 

Horton was a student in Melbourne at Caulfield Grammar school. This is an elite school for the establishment and was founded by the Church of England in 1881. Few, if any, Australians of convict origin would have been able or permitted to attend at the time it was founded. Its cultural teaching is basically that of the privileged classes, not the working people. His views are highly unlikely to reflect those of Australians with "convict" origins.

It is the above reference to "unwanted criminals" that I believe is most damaging to China. It worries me greatly that there appears to be not a shred of class consciousness in your editorial. We must never forget that at the present stage class struggle continues all over the world. 

The editorial said that Australia cannot help but effuse its white supremacy in front of Asian countries.

This is to Australia's shame. However, we must differentiate between the Australian people and the current political system and leadership.

Chinese and Australians should be close friends. The Australian political leadership may be despicable at present, but not every Australian recognizes that at this stage and so it is necessary to choose words carefully, as well as distinguishing the people from the current ruling classes.

Paul Byrne, a 72-year-old Australian reader