Beijing lashes Marise Payne over ‘rubbish’ attack

Beijing has hit back at Marise Payne’s attack on Chinese disinformation, saying it is Australia that is manipulating facts.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. Picture: AFP.

The Chinese Embassy has hit back at Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne’s attack on Chinese disinformation, condemning it as “rubbish”.

The Embassy said “some Australian politicians” had played up false information and “malicious slanders against China”.

“In recent days, some Australian media and politicians made baseless accusations of China for spreading disinformation, which is completely rubbish,” it said.

“It is obvious to see who is engaged in stigmatisation, politicisation, sowing division, and undermining international co-operation.”

China’s foreign ministry also blasted Senator Payne, who accused China in a speech this week of spreading false information during the pandemic to shore up its authoritarian system.

Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “As facts have shown, disinformation is Australia's expertise, not China's.”

He cited an Australia Institute report that found pro-Trump social media accounts were involved in a co-ordinated campaign to portray the coronavirus as a Chinese-engineered bioweapon.

“This is the very definition of disinformation. Why is the Australian foreign minister turning a blind eye to it?” Mr Zhao said.

“I would like to reiterate that disinformation, like the coronavirus, is also a common enemy to all mankind.

“We hope the Australian official will act responsibly in a just and objective manner, stop political manipulation of the pandemic and contribute to the global combat against the pandemic.”

Mr Zhao defended China’s advice to its students and tourists to reconsider travel to Australia because of the danger of racist attacks, saying it was based on “the plain fact of existing discrimination and violence in Australia”.

“I would like to urge (a) certain individual on the Australian side again to respect the voice of the victims, face up to the problems and really think about what went wrong on their side,” he said.

Senator Payne warned in her speech that Chinese disinformation was undermining democracy and creating a “climate of fear”.

She referred to a European Commission report last week that found China and Russia had used the pandemic to “exacerbate social polarisation”; and to Twitter’s suspension of 32,000 accounts linked to Chinese, Russian and Turkish propaganda operations.

The Minister declared Australia would stand against the use of disinformation “to foment violence and divide communities”, countering it with “facts and transparency”.