‘Tough words’: paper links alleged assault to government remarks

A Chinese newspaper has linked the alleged assault of students in Canberra to “tough words” to China from the PM.

A Chinese newspaper has linked comments from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to the alleged assault of Chinese students in Canberra. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett.

China’s Global Times has linked the alleged assault of Chinese international school students in Canberra to “tough words” spoken to China by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

The newspaper editorialised on Monday about the incident, about which two teenagers appeared in a Canberra children’s court last Friday.

The international school students had declined, it was claimed, to hand over cigarettes when demanded.

The editorial said that Australia “has the obligation to protect Chinese students’ security.”

It said that the attitudes of Australian people on the street, including those involved in this incident, reflected the views of leaders in Australia who had urged Chinese and other foreign students to respect Australia’s freedom of speech and opinion.

A collection of Chinese newspapers. Picture: AFP PHOTO/GREG BAKER.

The newspaper said that “many Chinese people will think Australia is not safe for students, unless the Australian side does not take tough actions.”

It also blamed the mainstream media, accusing them of making too much of recent controversies over Chinese students’ zeal in pursuing lecturers and others deemed to have shown disrespect to Chinese party-state values.

It said that “while Canberra tells us that the country is friendly to China, Chinese people would be naive to believe it.”

“The Australian government may believe that Australia’s education system holds an appeal to Chinese families that is irreplaceable,” it said. “But of course, it is not.”

The entire country of Australia, Global Times said, “is not so important to China. It will benefit more if it learns to lower its tail as it walks, not to wag it.”