Chinese embassy accuses Australia of stoking nationalism, fake outrage

The back-and-forth between Australia and China has taken a dramatic turn with officials accusing Scott Morrison of faking outrage.

The Chinese embassy has issued a blistering response to the “rage and roar” of Australian politicians, accusing Prime Minister Scott Morrison of “overreacting” to a tweet depicting an Australian soldier killing a child.

Just over 24 hours after the shocking fake image of a grinning soldier appearing to slit the throat of an Afghan child was posted on Twitter, the Chinese Embassy has responded to the PM’s demands for an apology.

The short answer: the PM could be waiting until hell freezes over.

“We would like to further stress the following: the rage and roar of some Australian politicians and media is nothing but misreading of and overreaction to Mr Zhao’s tweet,” the statement said.

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BREAKING: Chinese Embassy has issued a statement after the PM called for an apology over Zhao's tweet. No apology forthcoming. Instead, accusations that the "rage and roar of some politicians" is an "attempt to stoke domestic nationalism". @newscomauHQ pic.twitter.com/eqvPCPWhTz

— Rohan Smith (@Ro_Smith) December 1, 2020

“The accusations made are simply to serve two purposes. One is to deflect public attention from the horrible atrocities by certain Australian soldiers. The other is to blame China for the worsening of bilateral ties. There may be another attempt to stoke domestic nationalism.”

On Monday night, China’s state-controlled media urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to “kneel down on the ground and slap himself in the face” over alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

In an extraordinary attack, the Chinese state-controlled newspaper the Global Times called on the Prime Minister to “slap himself” during a nationally televised address.

“Morrison should kneel down on the ground, slap himself in the face, and kowtow to apologize to Afghans - all these should be done in a live telecast,” the editor wrote.

“No matter what harsh words people use on them for the murder, the Australian government should have accepted it. How dare they talk back and say they are offended!.”

The editorial went on to describe the Prime Minister as a “hatchet man” for the US.

“The Morrison administration is the political hatchet man hired by the US akin to a mafia,” it said.

“There is no remedy in Western culture that could save them. They should be sent to the temples in Thailand, Myanmar or China’s Zhoushan, get their hair shaved and chant scriptures, and be taught not to kill people first thing first.

“They should recite The Analects and be taught that one should not impose on others what he himself does not desire. Such an education of Eastern civilization is expected to heal their evil minds and murderous mentality.”

The furore erupted after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian posted on the doctored image on Twitter.

“The Australian government’s many moves have made Australia more and more like a rural-urban continuum in Western civilization, where rogues and outlaws run wild,” the Global Times said.

“Australian troops and fleets should leave Asia and the coastal waters of the Asian continent. More precisely, they should run as far as they can. The Morrison administration is making Australia provocative and wanting a spanking.”

Earlier, Chinese officials delivered a stinging rebuke to demands for an apology over the shocking faked photograph of an Australian soldier, accusing Australia of “barbarism” and saying the government should feel ashamed.

So far, no opinion leader, let alone political figure, in China, has called for boycotting Australian products. Australia extremely lacks a proper understanding of itself. It can’t even be counted as a paper tiger, it’s only a paper cat. pic.twitter.com/DS164cjf3o

— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) December 1, 2020

In a dramatic escalation of the tensions between the two countries, the foreign ministry spokesman who sparked the row last night also launched a social media blitz refusing to back down

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying delivered a statement on live TV doubling down on the disturbing image posted by her colleague.

“Some Australian soldiers committed serious crimes in Afghanistan,” she said.

“The details are appalling and shocking including men and boys who were shot dead all with their throats slit while blindfolded

Meanwhile, the editor of the Global Times has laughed off threats to boycott Chinese imports suggesting given the trade imbalance between the two countries Australia was a paper cat, not a tiger.