China‘s foreign ministry has denied manufacturing fake pictures of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child in a bizarre press conference.
A furious Scott Morrison has demanded an apology over the images posted by foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Monday.
Another foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday has denied the images are doctored.
In a rambling speech, she made outrageous accusations about the nation, and questioning whether the images are fake at all.
This image, shared online by a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, is what first sparked the latest diplomatic row – falsely showing an Australian soldier holding a knife to a child’s throat
‘So, how could people from Australia and U.S. accuse China of fabricating pictures and spreading fake information? Are these fake?’ the spokesperson said.
‘Australia showed that their goal is to protect their value. I want to raise a question – what is the value that Australia wants to protect?’
‘Do the released and proven crimes committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan fit their value? Australian solders killed innocent citizens and children, and yet does not allow others to comment and criticize on it. Is this fitting of Australia’s value?’
The United States called China’s use of the digitally manipulated image a ‘new low’ in disinformation.
Morrison took to WeChat on Tuesday to criticise the ‘false image’, while offering praise to Australia’s Chinese community.
China has slapped tariffs on several Australian exports, including wine, barley and beef (pictured, an advertisement for Australian beef on the streets of Beijing on November 23)
Another foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying (pictured) speaking at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday has denied the images are doctored after multiple countries condemned the move
In his message, Morrison defended Australia’s handling of a war crimes investigation into the actions of special forces in Afghanistan, and said Australia would deal with ‘thorny issues’ in a transparent manner.
But that message appeared to be blocked by Wednesday evening, with a note appearing from the ‘Weixin Official Accounts Platform Operation Center’ saying the content was unable to be viewed because it violated regulations, including distorting historical events and confusing the public.
Tencent, the parent company of WeChat, did not respond to a request for comment.
Australian special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan, with senior commandos reportedly forcing junior soldiers to kill defenceless captives in order to ‘blood’ them for combat, a four-year investigation found.
Australia said last week that 19 current and former soldiers would be referred for potential criminal prosecution.
Australian plans to take China to the World Trade Organisation over ‘politically motivated’ tariff increases (pictured, Chinese President Xi Jinping left and Prime Minister Scott Morrison right)
China’s embassy has said the ‘rage and roar’ from Australian politicians and media over the soldier image was an overreaction.
Australia was seeking to ‘deflect public attention from the horrible atrocities by certain Australian soldiers’, it said.
Other nations, including the United States, New Zealand and France – and the self-ruled island of Taiwan which China claims as its own – have expressed concern at the Chinese foreign ministry’s use of the manipulated image on an official Twitter account.
China has been increasingly taxing Australian imports including a 200 per cent tariff on Australian wine – warning that Australia is economically dependent on the Asian giant.
‘The CCP’s latest attack on Australia is another example of its unchecked use of disinformation and coercive diplomacy. Its hypocrisy is obvious to all,’ the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
Jake Sullivan, tapped as national security adviser in the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, tweeted support for Australia without reference to China.
‘America will stand shoulder to shoulder with our ally Australia and rally fellow democracies to advance our shared security, prosperity, and values,’ he wrote.
France’s foreign affairs spokesman said on Tuesday the tweeted image was ‘especially shocking’ and the comments by Zhao ‘insulting for all countries whose armed forces are currently engaged in Afghanistan’.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao (pictured) posted a doctored image of showing a grinning Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child
The Global Times, a mouthpiece for the communist government, shared another image depicting the Australian prime minister in a war zone, pointing at a child screaming ‘apologise!’
Chinese media has warned that Australia is ‘economically dependent on China’. Pictured: Australian-made wine in Beijing
China’s embassy in Paris hit back on Wednesday, saying the soldier image was a caricature, adding that France has previously loudly defended the right to caricature.
It was an apparent reference to France’s row with the Muslim world over its defence of the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad.
WeChat has 690,000 active daily users in Australia, and in September told an Australian government inquiry it would prevent foreign interference in Australian public debate through its platform.
Morrison’s message had been read by 57,000 WeChat users by Wednesday.
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Zhao’s tweet, pinned to the top of his Twitter account, had been ‘liked’ by 60,000 followers, after Twitter labelled it as sensitive content but declined Canberra’s request to remove the image.
Twitter is blocked in China, but has been used by Chinese diplomats.
The Global Times newspaper said Beijing can easily replace Australian wine and other products like barley (pictured) – which have been hit with heavy tariffs in recent months
