China has condemned remarks made by Australian politician Barry O’Sullivan, who said his country should “start with the Chinaman” when addressing risks posed to the country’s agriculture and food safety.
A statement on Wednesday on the website of China’s embassy in the capital Canberra said: “We are deeply astonished by the disgusting and racist comments insulting Australian Chinese by Senator Barry O’Sullivan of the Nationals.
“The embassy expresses the strongest indignation and sternest condemnation!”
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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a post on Chinese social media platform WeChat on Thursday that O’Sullivan’s views were not those of the government.
The premier said he was proud of the “profound influence” Chinese-Australians had had on Australia.
“The remarks made by Senator Barry O’Sullivan do not represent my views, nor do they represent the views of the Liberal and National Party’s coalition government,” he said.
The embassy statement cam in response to comments O’Sullivan made on Tuesday during discussions in the Senate, the upper house of the Australian parliament, about a proposed biosecurity imports levy.
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O’Sullivan, a senator for the Liberal National Party of Queensland, said he opposed a tax on imports into Australia to raise money for biosecurity controls – designed to prevent the spread of pests and diseases threatening the country’s food safety, animal and plant life, and economy.
“There’s a bigger chance of us having a biosecurity breach from some bloody old Chinaman that brings in his favourite sausage down the front of his undies,” O’Sullivan said.
“I’m not opposed to a tax to raise money for biosecurity, but from those that pose a risk. So start with the Chinaman.”
The embassy has objected about racism in Australia several times before. In March last year, it denounced what it called “racist hysteria” in response to the publication of Australian author Clive Hamilton’s book Silent Invasion: How China is Turning Australia into a Puppet State.
The latest incident comes as ties are strained between the two countries, with recent contentious issues including Australia banning Chinese telecoms company Huawei’s equipment from its future 5G networks and Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo being stripped of his Australian residency after his links to the Chinese Communist Party came under scrutiny.
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Australia last year acted to stamp out foreign influence on its politics, with reforms to espionage and foreign interference laws, including a ban on foreign donations to its political parties. The country’s main spy agency had long voiced concerns that China was interfering in Australian institutions and using the political donations system to gain access.
Huang, who has donated millions to Australia’s two main political parties, came under scrutiny for alleged links to the United Front Work Department, a body linked to the Chinese Communist Party that has been accused of neutralising opposition and buying political influence around the world.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: senator’s ‘Chinaman’ slur slammed
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