[Yellow_Festiva]

Beijing threatens Australia with ‘lasting punishment’ as WeChat removes Scott Morrison’s post

In a fresh escalation of tensions, Beijing has warned Australia it faces “lasting punishment” over a call to boycott Chinese-made products.

Samantha Maiden DECEMBER 3, 2020

Beijing has warned Australia that it faces “lasting punishment” over a call to boycott Chinese-made products, led by Pauline Hanson.

The One Nation leader this week said a ban on the importation of goods produced in the country should be implemented, amid the continuing fallout over a fake image of an Australian soldier shared by a top Communist Party official on Twitter.

In an editorial in Beijing’s English-language mouthpiece The Global Times, Senator Hanson was told she can dish out all the trade threats she likes but she may not be able to handle the “lasting punishment”.

The latest stinging remarks come after the social media giant WeChat censored Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s post, which was a direct appeal to millions of Chinese users on the app.

The material published on the PM’s official account was deleted overnight, his office confirmed.

A message from WeChat now states that the content “involves the use of inciting, misleading, or contrary to objective facts, text, pictures, videos, etc., fabricate social hot spots, distort historical events, and confuse the public.”

Meanwhile, Twitter has refused Australia’s request to remove the original offending image – a doctored piece of “art” depicting a grinning Australian soldier crouching on an Afghan flag and an Australian flag, holding a knife to the throat of a child.

In his now-censored WeChat post, the PM insisted on Tuesday that the incendiary image would not diminish Australia’s respect for the Chinese community at home or abroad.

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https://www.news.com.au/national/wec...e0f8399517d2f4