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From: TT
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Photo: Lukas Coch / AP / TT
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has criticized the fake photo. Stock Photography.
“Disgusting”, “outrageous” and “horrible”: This is what Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls the fake photo that Chinese government official Zhao Lijian posted on the Twitter platform on Monday.
The post features a photo showing a man dressed as an Australian soldier holding a bloody knife to the neck of an Afghan boy smiling while saying the words “don’t be afraid, we come with peaceful intentions.”
Suspect of war crimes
The fake photo stirs strong emotions in Australia as it alludes to the ongoing lawsuit against 19 Australian soldiers suspected of war crimes while serving in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. Among other things, the soldiers are suspected of being behind the killing of 39 civilians in the country.
Australia demands, in addition to the removal of the photo from Twitter, a Chinese public apology for the post.
– It is extremely outrageous and cannot be justified in any way. The Chinese government should be ashamed of itself for this post, says Scott Morrison of the post.
Icy relationships
However, it may take some time before China apologizes for the post. When Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, was asked about the post on Monday, she replied:
– Considering that it is the Australian soldiers who have committed their heinous crime, perhaps it is Australia that should be ashamed?
The photography scandal is a new low point for diplomatic relations between the two countries, which in recent years have become increasingly tense.
Australia has criticized what is seen as an aggressive exercise of power by China in Asia since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013. Beijing, for its part, has been irritated by Australia’s leading role in a campaign to bring conduct an international investigation into the origins of the corona pandemic.
China has responded by reducing imports of Australian products and urging Chinese students and tourists to avoid Australia. Earlier this year, Australia warned its citizens about the risk of arbitrary arrest in China.
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