New Zealand's top diplomat Winston Peters has drawn the ire of Beijing's ambassador in Wellington after telling a lawmaker of Chinese descent to 'go back to your own country'. During a debate about New Zealand's response to the Covid pandemic, populist NZ First leader Peters responded to a question from China-born Green Party member Lawrence Xu-Nan by making the remarks. The comments sparked a rare intervention from Chinese ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong, who criticized Peters on X. Peters fired back, defending his comments as a reflection of New Zealand's democratic values of free speech and rights.
Racist Comments
During the debate, Xu-Nan asked Peters if he was vaccinated. In response, Peters said the lawmaker, who was born in the Chinese city of Tianjin but grew up in Auckland, had 'come here five minutes ago'. He then told Xu-Nan to 'go back to your own country', adding, 'That's where they lie like a flatfish, but they don't lie like that here. This is called a democracy, unlike what you're used to. Go back to where you've come from, you loudmouth.'
Chinese Ambassador's Response
Chinese ambassador Wang Xiaolong responded on X, saying,'suffice it to say, sometimes, a statement says more about the person that makes it than anything or anybody else'. Peters fired back at Wang, saying his comments had 'proven my point' and defending New Zealand's democratic values of free speech and rights.
Previous Incidents
This is not the first time Peters and his party have received criticism for racist comments. Earlier this year, Peters' deputy Shane Jones criticized New Zealand's free trade deal with India as risking a 'butter chicken tsunami'. Last year, Peters and Jones were forced to back down after the deputy yelled'send the Mexicans home' at Mexican-born MP Francisco Hernandez during a debate. Peters had followed up that comment by telling Hernandez and Xu-Nan to'show some gratitude' for being in New Zealand.
