Aus­trali­a’s involve­ment in this Chinese dip­lo­matic defec­tion is really begin­ning to dis­gust me. I thought when I first read about it that it was abom­in­able to ring the coun­try a person was defect­ing from and inform them of their where­abouts. I’m glad it’s not just me: turns out that’s illegal. It’s like having a woman walk in and ask you to pro­tect her from her abus­ive part­ner and your first act being to call the part­ner and tell him where she is if he’d like to come and get her.