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Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used Chinese social media platform WeChat to criticise a “false image” of an Australian soldier posted on Twitter by the Chinese authorities.
China has rebuffed Morrison’s requires an apology after its overseas ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian posted the digitally manipulated picture of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan little one on Monday.
China’s embassy mentioned the “rage and roar” from Australian politicians and media over the picture was an overreaction.
In a WeChat message on Tuesday evening, Morrison wrote that the diplomatic dispute over the picture of the soldier “does not diminish respect and appreciation for the Chinese community in Australia”. He defended Australia’s dealing with of a battle crimes investigation into the actions of particular forces in Afghanistan, and mentioned Australia is ready to cope with “thorny issues” like this in a clear method.
Australia has beforehand mentioned 19 troopers will probably be referred for potential legal prosecution for the killings of unarmed Afghan prisoners and civilians.
WeChat instructed an Australian authorities inquiry in October it had 690,000 energetic every day customers in Australia.
Morrison’s message had been learn by 50,000 WeChat customers by Wednesday morning. Zhao’s tweet, pinned to the highest of his Twitter account, had been “liked” by 54,000 followers, after Twitter labelled it as delicate content material however declined the Australian authorities’s request to take away the picture.
Read | What is the Brereton War Crimes Report, and why might Australian particular forces troops be sacked?
Twitter is blocked in China, however has been more and more utilized by Chinese diplomats who’ve adopted combative “Wolf Warrior diplomacy” techniques this 12 months.
China on Friday imposed dumping tariffs of up to 200% on Australian wine imports, successfully shutting off the biggest export marketplace for the Australian wine trade, amid a worsening diplomatic dispute that has seen a severe of commerce reprisals imposed by China.
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