Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused Labor for being ‘racist’ for a new online advertisement they released questioning the legitimacy of Liberal MP and Member for Chisholm Gladys Liu. The ad links Liu to dodgy donors and insinuates she/ the donors are/were a national security risk. At this face value, and after you watch the advertisement it does have that racist stink and is purposed to arouse the anti-Chinese/Asian hate sentiment in Australia – sad really considering this is coming from the Labor Party. Had she been white or non Asian, the attacks on her by the Labor Party wouldn’t be calling her anything linked to CCP, don’t you think?
However, the accusations of RACISM is quite rich coming out of the Government and Scott Morrison considering him and the Government have consistently peddled anti China rhetoric and is a major cause of the anti- Asian hate issue in Australia. Just yesterday at the ANZAC Day address, Defence Minister Peter Dutton compared China and Russia to Nazi Germany before WW2. China in actual fact has not waged any “war”, so the question of the Government’s targeting remains.
The conclusion is both sides of politics are risking racism against Asian Australians to win votes and to push the anti Asian rhetoric. If you are curious here is what the PM said and what Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said about the Labor advertisement and about Liu ( via The Age):
“They go after Gladys Liu because she’s Chinese,” Morrison said on Sunday. “They’re engaged in what I think is a sewer tactic here.”
“The Labor Party here is … engaging in scare tactics, and in a racist attack ad on the first Chinese-born person to sit in the House of Representatives,” said Frydenberg.
He continues: “Gladys Liu is a very effective local member. I’ve been out campaigning with her twice over the course of this campaign. She is a proud Australian citizen. And this racist attack ad by the Labor Party has no place in our community.”
Penny Wong has hit back and defended the ad and targeting of Liu by saying (via The Age):
“There were a number of these issues raised a few years ago in parliament and I remember my then [Coalition] counterpart … accusing me and others of attacking [Liu] because of her ethnic heritage, which is not the case,”
“I think there were questions that she should have answered then and it is legitimate for those to be answered.”
Our opinion? It is pretty racist all round, Liberal or Labor and this racist and anti-China rhetoric is deliberate to win the votes of the majority of Australian voters who are already biased against China, at all costs. Let us know your thoughts!
Images via The Age