China refuses to apologise over grotesque Australia soldier submit | Australia

Officials double up Australia, saying the country should be ashamed of alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

China has refused to apologize for a controversial picture of an Australian soldier cutting the throat of an Afghan child when New Zealand became the youngest country to criticize the doctoral picture posted on social media by a State Department spokesman has been.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said her government had brought her concerns about the post to Beijing.

“New Zealand registered our concerns about the use of this image directly with the Chinese authorities,” Arden told reporters on Tuesday.

“It was an out-of-date post and that would of course concern us. We addressed that directly as New Zealand does when we have such concerns. “

The computer-generated image was released on Monday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Zhao Lijian, and it is titled “Do not be afraid, we are coming to bring you peace.”

It appeared to be a response to a recent investigation in Australia that found evidence that special forces had murdered 39 civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan. Australia has apologized to Afghanistan for the killings, which are now the subject of a criminal investigation.

“Shocked by the murder of Afghan civilians and prisoners by Australian soldiers. We strongly condemn such acts and demand that they be held accountable, ”Zhao tweeted next to the picture.

Despite widespread global criticism, China refused to apologize, and Zhao later pinned the image to the top of his verified Twitter profile, where it received 38,700 likes and 6,655 retweets despite a warning from Twitter about “sensitive content”.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for an apology for the post he described as “repulsive”.

However, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said Monday that Australia should be more embarrassed when it comes to apologizing for the post.

“The Australian side reacted so strongly to my colleague’s tweet. Why this? Do you think that your merciless murder of Afghan civilians is justified, but condemnation of such ruthless brutality is not? Afghan life is important! ” She said.

“Shouldn’t the Australian government be ashamed that some of their soldiers on official service in Afghanistan committed such atrocities?”

The Global Times, a Chinese state news agency often compared to Fox News in the US, carried a similar message, including an editorial: China’s goodwill in vain against evil Australia.

The Chinese media has focused on alleged war crimes by Australia since mid-November, while bilateral relations between Australia and China deteriorated.

Relations between the two countries were strained after Australia found out it was Chinese influence campaigns and has deteriorated since Canberra asked for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 earlier this year.

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