It is a measure of the Prime Minister’s commitment to national security that with the economy slowing and the country suffering increased unemployment and the effects of international financial crises, he should so specifically recommit to real growth in the defence budget of 3 per cent a year for the next decade.

In a blunt warning to the national congress of the Returned and Services League, Kevin Rudd also said he wanted to use Australia’s status as “a middle power” to promote comprehensive diplomatic engagement within the region and through the UN as a buffer against regional rivalries.

It reported on Saturday that five Chinese doctors had been in North Korea for more than a week, possibly to treat the country’s so-called Dear Leader, Kim Jong-Il. But South Korea’s spy agency later said there was no indication Mr. Kim’s health might be worsening.

George W. Bush’s remark in 2000 that America “stands alone right now in the world in terms of power” no longer rings true. Great shifts are apparent in global politics and Washington must increasingly compete for favour. This global uncertainty confronts senators Barack Obama and John McCain in their race for the White House.

There were scores of critical questions posed to the organisers on Friday dealing with touchy topics such as Tibet, protest parks, ticket scalpers, the hissing of Japanese competitors by Chinese audiences, the Falun Gong and doping. Journalists have previously accused the organisers of lying and refusing to answer questions.

Central to all of the strange happenings at the Beijing Olympic Games is control. Chinese officials want to minimise anything that will affect the image presented to the Games’ 4 billion television viewers, but by doing so, have exposed themselves to enormous criticism for trying to present a falsely pristine occasion.

The protesters abseiled down the front of the building and hung a banner reading “Free Tibet” in Chinese and English. Chinese security officers tried to stop journalists from filming the event.

The rare outburst by Wang Wei matched the severe tone of the world’s media, which has been frustrated by China’s promises of media freedom while encountering continued internet censorship, internal blackouts on Chinese reporting, harassment, detention, obfuscation and, repeatedly, lies.

The uncomfortable reality emerging from the duplicitous Lin Miaoke/Yang Peiyi incident, apart from any moral or aesthetic considerations, is how it represents a microcosm of China’s own two-faced approach to the Olympics and, indeed, the world in general.

Uniformed police pounced on John Ray, the China correspondent for Independent Television News (ITN), shortly after the ‘Students for a Free Tibet’ group unfurled the protest banner, the reporter and another ITN staff member said. Mr. Ray was released a short time later, but without his equipment.