A Chinese state-run newspaper on Wednesday called on Beijing to “teach Canberra a lesson” after Australian tycoon and politician Clive Palmer said the Chinese government “shoot[s] their own people” in a televised tirade.
The flamboyant mining baron, who is locked in a long-running dispute over royalties and port operations with a state-controlled Chinese company, also called the Chinese “bastards” who “want to take over this country.”
In an editorial, the Global Times urged Beijing to take “solid actions to punish him.”
It said the tycoon’s comments were “rampant rascality” showing “Australian society has an unfriendly attitude toward China.”
“China must let those prancing provocateurs know how much of a price they pay when they deliberately rile us,” it said.
Beijing should cut off all business contacts with Palmer, ban him and his senior executives from China, and could impose sanctions on Australian firms that have dealings with him, it added.
The paper’s Chinese edition carried a similar editorial. It also ran a news story about Palmer’s comments on its front page.
Palmer was elected to the Australian parliament last year as head of the Palmer United Party.
Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop called Palmer’s outburst “offensive, unnecessary and unacceptable for a member of parliament.”
Xinhua news agency also slammed Palmer as a “rotten apple,” but adopted a softer tone on Sino-Australian relations.
The politician’s outburst was “out of personal interests and by no means represents the mainstream voice of Australia,” it said.
The mining magnate had changed his opinion on China depending on his business interests, it said, adding that in 2011 he even blasted Canberra for “radically” discriminating against Chinese investment when he “received large amounts of money” from a partnership with Chinese firms.
“From this perspective, Palmer’s irresponsible outburst should be taken with a grain of salt,” it said.
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