Beijing, China:
China has refused to apologise for a controversial doctored image depicting an Australian soldier cutting the throat of an Afghan kid and stated Canberra really should be ashamed rather than demanding an apology.
The Chinese foreign ministry reaction comes immediately after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison slammed the Chinese government for the ”outrageous and disgusting slur” and sought an apology.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying on Monday stated that rather than demand an apology for the post, Australia really should be “ashamed”, Al Jazeera reported.
“The Australian side has been reacting so strongly to my colleague’s tweet. Why is that? Do they think that their merciless killing of Afghan civilians is justified but the condemnation of such ruthless brutality is not? Afghan lives matter!” she stated.
“Shouldn’t the Australian government feel ashamed that some of its soldiers on official duty in Afghanistan committed such cruelties?” she added.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden stated her govt had conveyed its concern about the post to Beijing.
“New Zealand has registered directly with Chinese authorities our concern over the use of that image,” Arden told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was an unfactual post, and of course that would concern us. So that is something we have raised directly in the manner that New Zealand does when we have such concerns.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian shared the image on his Twitter manage Monday morning in which a unique forces soldier is noticed slitting the throat of an Afghan kid with a knife and its head wrapped in an Australian flag.
“Don’t be afraid we are coming to bring you peace,” the image states.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian tweeted that he was shocked by the murder of Afghan civilians and prisoners by Australian soldiers. “We strongly condemn such acts and call for holding them accountable,” he stated.
The illustration was developed by Wuheqilin, a self-styled Chinese “wolf warrior” artist, who came to prominence for his pro-Beijing illustrations through the Hong Kong protests final year, the Herald additional reported.
The post comes at a time when Australia is facing criticism immediately after the government-initiated Brereton report identified Australian unique forces soldiers allegedly committed 39 murders in Afghanistan.
The connection among Canberra and Beijing has deteriorated immediately after Australia pushed for an international inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus in April with out consulting Beijing, widening cracks in the connection that had been expanding considering that Canberra banned China’s Huawei Technologies Co. from assisting construct its 5G telecommunications network two years ago.
China also appears to be infuriated by the Australian participation in the Malabar naval physical exercise earlier this month.