China says certain Australian politicians "demonising" relations with China after raid

Record ID: 1559559

  • Title: China says certain Australian politicians "demonising" relations with China after raid
  • Date: 29th June 2020
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (JUNE 29, 2020) (REUTERS) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ZHAO LIJIAN ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE MEDIA SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ZHAO LIJIAN, SAYING: "For some time, some politicians in Australia seem to have been suffering from paranoia and fear of China. They have lost the bottom line of rationality and justice. Under the guise of values, they talk about China in their domestic politics, stigmatising and demonising normal personal exchanges and cooperation between China and Australia with unjustifiable charges, constantly poisoning the atmosphere of bilateral relations. This is completely unconstructive and irresponsible behaviour, and China firmly opposes it." MEDIA SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN ZHAO LIJIAN, SAYING: "For some time, some people and media in Australia have been passionately cooking up stories about Chinese espionage and infiltration without producing even a single tangible piece of evidence. In contrast, China has so much solid evidence of Australia spying on China." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS EXTERIOR OF CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY CHINESE FLAG FLYING
  • Embargoed: 13th July 2020 12:37
  • Keywords: Australia China Shaoquett Moselmane Zhao Lijian foreign ministry probe raid
  • Location: BEIJING, CHINA
  • City: BEIJING, CHINA
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001CKF8PXJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:China's foreign ministry on Monday (June 29) accused "some" Australian politicians of "stigmatising and demonising" bilateral relations after a New South Wales politician was probed by authorities in a China-focused investigation linked to foreign interference.
    Early on Friday (June 26), federal police searched New South Wales state politician Shaoquett Moselmane's home and parliamentary office in an investigation Prime Minister Scott Morrison linked to foreign interference.
    China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian declined to comment on the case directly but said certain Australian politicians are "passionately cooking up stories about Chinese espionage and infiltration without producing even a single tangible piece of evidence."
    Australia passed foreign interference legislation in 2018, spurred in part by a classified Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) report on Chinese influence activity, sparking anger from Beijing.
    (Production: Thomas Suen)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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