Australian lawmaker forced to apologize to China

[BuddhaPalm]

Australian lawmaker apologizes to China for tirade -

Following the volatile multimillionaire's Aug. 18 outburst on Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s "Q & A" program, government ministers accused him of threatening Australia's relationship with its biggest trading partner and distanced themselves from his views. Palmer, meanwhile, largely avoided commenting on the issue.

But Palmer, who was elected to Parliament last September from his own Palmer United Party, released on Tuesday the text of an apology letter to China's ambassador to Australia, Ma Zhaoxu.

"I most sincerely apologize for any insult to Chinese people caused by any of the language I used," Palmer wrote in the letter, dated Aug. 25.

"In keeping an open mind, I now come to the realization that what I said on Q&A was an insult to Chinese people everywhere and I wish to assure them they have my most genuine and sincere apology," the letter said.

The tirade began when Palmer, 60, was questioned about a legal dispute between his mining company Mineralogy and its Chinese state-owned partner, CITIC Pacific Mining. CITIC alleged in court that Palmer syphoned 12 million Australian dollars ($11 million) to fund his party's election campaign.

Palmer, whose party forms a powerful voting bloc in the Senate with the support of four senators, said his companies were owed "about AU$500 million by the communist Chinese government that doesn't want to pay." He said he was countersuing.

"I'm saying this because they're communist, they shoot their own people, they haven't got a justice system and they want to take over this country, and we're not going to let them do it," Palmer said on the program.

He later explained on his Twitter account that his comments were "not intended to refer to Chinese people but to (a) Chinese company which is taking Australian resources & not paying."

Following the tirade, the Chinese Embassy issued a statement describing Palmer's comments as "absurd," ''irresponsible" and "full of ignorance and prejudice."


Welcome to the post DF-41 world order....

 

[TaiShang]

Welcome to the post DF-41 world order....

LOL. That is nicely-put, sir!

 

[DoTell]

LOL. That is nicely-put, sir!

"It doesn't matter they love you or hate you, as long as they keep talking about you". Hehehe....

 

[Nan Yang]

How much is a Western Politician Apology worth ?


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[xdrive]

Apologizing for saying something offensive and ridiculous is a natural thing to do.

The MP in question owns mining ventures and is in dispute with a Chinese company so only has his self interests at heart.

But the Chinese should also remember that in a Democracy, anyone can say anything they like no matter how wrong or stupid it is.

 

[Edison Chen]

Apologizing for saying something offensive and ridiculous is a natural thing to do.

The MP in question owns mining ventures and is in dispute with a Chinese company so only has his self interests at heart.

But the Chinese should also remember that in a Democracy, anyone can say anything they like no matter how wrong or stupid it is.

LOL, yes, couldnt agree more! I remember in a democarcy, people should be responsible for the consequences of his comment, whether it's stupid or not. Freedom doesn't mean you can talk anything without undertaking any bad outcomes.

 

[xdrive]

I remember in a democarcy, people should be responsible for the consequences of his comment, whether it's stupid or not.

Exactly right, hence why he has apologized for his own comments. He is solely responsible for his own comments.

Freedom doesn't mean you can talk anything without undertaking any bad outcomes.

I agree.

 

[Beidou2020]

Just the power of the Chinese economy did this.
30 years ago, nothing would have happened as China was much weaker.

Just imagine what the world will look like 20 years from now.

 

[AViet]

Apologizing for saying something offensive and ridiculous is a natural thing to do.

The MP in question owns mining ventures and is in dispute with a Chinese company so only has his self interests at heart.

But the Chinese should also remember that in a Democracy, anyone can say anything they like no matter how wrong or stupid it is.

Oh really. So someone should not be hidden in Russia or Ecuadorian embassy for years. In case of Vietnam, US helped former South Vietnamese government to kill anyone just because of what they said were not what that puppet government wanted to hear.

Double standard and hypocrisy of Western so-called democracy, as usual.

Whenever someone like to teach Chinese or Vietnamese about "in democracy, people can say what they want without fear...", I start to think about posts from Indian some years ago about what were their great advantages against the Chinese. What a great discussion.

 

[xdrive]

Just the power of the Chinese economy did this.
30 years ago, nothing would have happened as China was much weaker.

Just imagine what the world will look like 20 years from now.

No it didn't. The guy made some stupid comments, realized it was stupid and apologized for it. It's called manners. When you make a mistake or say something that is wrong, you apologize. It's the normal, civilized thing to do. Well, in Australia at least it is.

Oh really. So someone should not be hidden in Russia or Ecuadorian embassy for years. In case of Vietnam, US helped former South Vietnamese government to kill anyone just because of what they said were not what that puppet government wanted to hear.

I have no idea what you are talking about nor does anything in your post relate to Australia or this incident.

Double standard and hypocrisy of Western so-called democracy, as usual.

Nothing you said in your post is even related to Australia..... We aren't the same country at the U.S if you didn't realize.

 

[AViet]

You said "in Democracy, blah blah blah,...", not in Australia. Is the US a typical Western democracy in your opinion or not?

 

[Nan Yang]

Apologizing for saying something offensive and ridiculous is a natural thing to do.

The MP in question owns mining ventures and is in dispute with a Chinese company so only has his self interests at heart.

But the Chinese should also remember that in a Democracy, anyone can say anything they like no matter how wrong or stupid it is.

Only if you are in a well develop country with a strong system of law and order.

If you are an person in a position of influence, what you say can plunge a weak country into chaos.
Freedom does not mean freedom to do anything you like.

What Palmer said was actually not such a big deal and frankly speaking, I did not feel bordered by his remarks. Try going to Malaysia and bad mouth Muslims there.

 

[AgentOrange]

Honestly, Palmer's outburst should be considered an isolated event. He endured a veritable crap storm from the Australian media and other Aussie politicians after he opened his trap and he certainly isn't representative of Australia as a whole. Since China is a big country, I hope China can learn to ignore things like this in the future without making it an issue worthy of national outrage. I mean, look at how many people crap on the US all the time. It's admirable and a sign of strength that the US can ignore inconsequential noise while it gets its business done anyways.

 

[Edison Chen]

Honestly, Palmer's outburst should be considered an isolated event. He endured a veritable crap storm from the Australian media and other Aussie politicians after he opened his trap and he certainly isn't representative of Australia as a whole. Since China is a big country, I hope China can learn to ignore things like this in the future without making it an issue worthy of national outrage. I mean, look at how many people crap on the US all the time. It's admirable and a sign of strength that the US can ignore inconsequential noise while it gets its business done anyways.

China and her people need more confidence, if China is supposed to become a real great power.