Politics
Associated Press / 1 NEWS

China hits back at NZ, Australia over condemnation of treatment of Uyghurs

March 25, 2021

Beijing’s not happy with a joint Australia-New Zealand statement issued by Nanaia Mahuta.

China has hit back at the joint statement released by foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand in support of sanctions announced by the US, the EU, Canada and Britain against China, saying a few members of the Five Eyes cannot represent the international community.

In the statement, the two foreign ministers reiterated their grave concerns about the growing number of credible reports of severe human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang.

"They obviously don't understand China and the world," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily news conference.

"China today is not the same as what it was 120 years ago. The Chinese people are not to be messed with because they will realise now that China is a force to be reckoned with.

"Moreover, the United Nations has more than 190 member states, and a few members of the Five Eyes Alliance cannot represent the international community."

Also today China accused European countries of "wantonly" imposing sanctions while not allowing China to hit back.

At the daily news conference Hua said the country will not accept their "unreasonable approach."

China said it summoned foreign diplomats in protest after the United States, the European Union, Canada and Britain jointly imposed sanctions on senior Chinese officials over alleged human rights abuses in China’s far western Xinjiang region.

The Chinese Embassy in France called a Paris-based researcher, Antoine Bondaz, "a thug" on Twitter and announced sanctions on several European nationals.

China retaliated with sanctions, which targeted European Union lawmakers, researchers and diplomats.

Separately, Hua said China was "concerned" about the development of peninsular situation after North Korea fired short-range missiles over the past weekend.

She again called for "dialogue and consultation" between countries concerned to work out a political resolution on the peninsular issue.

The missile tests came as North Korea ignored offers from the new US administration to resume negotiations, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week pressed China to use its "tremendous influence" to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme.

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