takeitwithyou
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Australia has complained to China's ambassador over what was described as "extraordinary" disruption by Chinese attendees at a diamond conference.
Australia was hosting a Kimberly Process conference on controlling conflict diamonds in Perth on Monday.
But the Chinese group were angered by the presence of a Taiwanese delegation, and noisily interrupted the official opening ceremony.
One high-level Australian attendee told the BBC: "It was disgusting."
'Highly stressful' meeting
China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province which will eventually be reunited with the mainland.
It insists that other countries cannot have diplomatic relations with both China and Taiwan, so few countries recognise the island's independence.
China often seeks to isolate Taiwan by blocking its involvement in international events.
According to reports, the Chinese group "hijacked the microphone" during a traditional Aboriginal welcoming ceremony, as a senior official was introducing Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
They demanded to know whether the Taiwan group - Rough Diamond Trading Entity of Chinese Taipei - had been officially invited.
"They were saying you can't even begin this meeting unless this matter is clarified," said the Australian attendee, who asked not to be named for professional reasons.
"It was highly stressful for everyone in the room because they kept demanding to be heard," he said.
"No country would accept showing such a lack of respect to its Aborigines and senior members of government."
The welcoming ceremony was suspended until the matter had been addressed.
A discussion session later in the morning was also abandoned because of continual interruptions by officials from African countries in support of China's position.
Australia was hosting a Kimberly Process conference on controlling conflict diamonds in Perth on Monday.
But the Chinese group were angered by the presence of a Taiwanese delegation, and noisily interrupted the official opening ceremony.
One high-level Australian attendee told the BBC: "It was disgusting."
'Highly stressful' meeting
China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province which will eventually be reunited with the mainland.
It insists that other countries cannot have diplomatic relations with both China and Taiwan, so few countries recognise the island's independence.
China often seeks to isolate Taiwan by blocking its involvement in international events.
According to reports, the Chinese group "hijacked the microphone" during a traditional Aboriginal welcoming ceremony, as a senior official was introducing Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
They demanded to know whether the Taiwan group - Rough Diamond Trading Entity of Chinese Taipei - had been officially invited.
"They were saying you can't even begin this meeting unless this matter is clarified," said the Australian attendee, who asked not to be named for professional reasons.
"It was highly stressful for everyone in the room because they kept demanding to be heard," he said.
"No country would accept showing such a lack of respect to its Aborigines and senior members of government."
The welcoming ceremony was suspended until the matter had been addressed.
A discussion session later in the morning was also abandoned because of continual interruptions by officials from African countries in support of China's position.
, at the end of the day, Taiwanese delegation asked to leave and Australia still lost from a failed attempt to provoke China ...keep crying baby.
