Australia demands China apology for 'repugnant' blog post

We start with the significant worsening of relations between China and Australia Beijing has defended one of its officials who tweeted a fake photograph showing an Australian soldier holding a knife to an Afghan child's throat the tweet containing the fact image was posted on government accounts and as you can see here Twitter has put a warning of sensitive content on the trees it does still allow people to click and see the image which we've pixelated out the disturbing scene where the image prompted an outcry in-camera with promises got Marcin demande between B. 2 leases he's also asked for an apology from Beijing this is what Mr. Morrison told a media briefing. 

The post my day to die the repugnant post my dad died. Of an image of a falsified image. Often the strident soldier. Threatening a young child with a knife. A post made on an official Chinese government Twitter account. Posted by the deputy director-general of the ministry of foreign affairs is. Mr. Lee jumped 0. Is truly repugnant. It is deeply offensive. To every Australian well in Beijing for us following developments is Dave McDonnell and Sydney all correspondence on the highly L. who told me how the situation between the 2 countries is really to terrorists and now you will be in a very already very very tense relationship 

but I know we keep saying that we keep saying it's getting worse but that's because it is every time now there is a headline with Australian China relations we almost know immediately it's going to be bad news hello the fact that Johnny's yet actually condemned the findings of that report the alleged war crimes report about the Australian special forces at being involved in 39 along with a tax on local killings it during the war in Afghanistan the fact that he condemned that isn't quite choppy because he said that last week he actually used the findings to accuse Australia of double standards 

when it comes to human rights violations I think it's the fact that doctored image the fact that this image was used by a Chinese official foreign ministry spokesperson used on an official Chinese government Twitter account and that the image itself was quite complimentary as you described it it is it depicts a an Australian soldier at with the night at put against at an Afghan child road with the Australian Afghan flags in the background that has clearly pushed at Scott Morrison to use some of the strongest language that we've heard him use against China he called he said that the Chinese government should be ashamed of yourself demanded an apology didn't get one and said that it was it was a slur and that it Twitter should put that down that didn't happen but I think the context to it as well is quite complex but this comes at a very sensitive time for Australia the country the ministry even the public and the government they're still reeling from the findings of that report the fact that 19 SAS soldiers could be could be facing at it could be facing. 

Court charges could be getting could be facing prosecution because of those murders all of this makes for a very bleak picture in the fact that this comes at very heightened tensions not just politically and diplomatically but also trade tensions between the 2 countries all of that makes for a very bleak picture in relations between China and Australia I will say this though which is worth noting that despite the open fury by Scott Morrison he still lacked a little bit of room for diplomatic maneuver he said that he hoped that this will at will inspire reset in relations he said he hoped that there's still room for dialogue but judging by China stone by China's rhetoric I don't think he's getting one anytime soon absolutely we're staying at telling us more about that Scott Morrison calling it not repugnant demanding an apology we've had the daily briefing to the media and Beijing what was said. 

Yeah well, what's your name was the spokesperson today and what she said is that is not China who should be ashamed in all of this but Australia I think Beijing 6 it's all a bit of winning here actually so after that tweet from jolly Jan he wasn't at the press conference today but his colleague watching was and what she says all is right a couple of lines she was asking rhetorically will you know has the astride in military conducted such terrible crimes in Afghanistan at have they killed people in this cold-blooded why and I think that they're able to gain some traction on social media by posing questions like this you know it is interesting though Bob we also ask the spokesperson this isn't anything to do with the overall collapse in relations between Canberra and Beijing and not we were told actually it's tough it's a separate matter this isn't to do with all these other fronts on which China into stride out fighting one another but interestingly I did ask the spokeswoman 1.

will this does seem to mark a bit of a change in Beijing's position because China's always sign we don't get involved in other people's internal affairs and so, therefore, you shouldn't be getting involved in our internal affairs now obviously this doesn't have anything to do with China it's a stride yet and Afghanistan and so ask maybe this represents a change in Beijing's approach well the spokeswoman was that she sort of well in a way quite upset almost by this line of questioning suggesting that it wasn't worthy of the baby seemed to be asking this and wondering whether it was because I was an Australian citizen so I was sort of seeking to divert people's attention from the issues at hand and I reassured her that no in fact that that it was a genuine question because it does seem to. 

Represent a shift in Beijing's thinking if it's going to stop making statements about all these events all over the world which don't involve China never the less I mean I don't imagine how much worse relations could get between China and the strategy would you have this type of thing being placed out on social media when you have such strong language going back and forth between Canberra and Beijing and if Scott Morrison thinks that you know this could be the start of a reset. I mean it seems like we're a long way from that of the mind that I can't see anything from this end which would indicate Beijing's preparedness to stop to really mend relations with the strategy just yet yeah the relationship really a new low that Steve Simon thank you both very much for joining us.