Lawrence Xu-Nan, a member of the Green Party born in China, asked populist party NZ First leader W. Peters on Wednesday during heated debates about New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic: “Are you vaccinated?”
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In response, W. Peters stated that the legislator, born in Tianjin, China, but raised in New Zealand, “arrived here five minutes ago.”
“Go back to your country. They lie their heads off there, but they don’t lie like that here,” said W. Peters. “This is called democracy, unlike what you are used to. Go back to where you came from, screamer.”
These comments provoked a rare intervention from China’s ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong.
He said on social media platform X on Thursday that although he prefers not to interfere in domestic politics, “it is enough to say that sometimes a statement says more about the person who made it than anything else.”
The Beijing embassy in Wellington also reported that it had filed a complaint with New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs over “negative China-related remarks by a certain politician.”
W. Peters firmly stood his ground.
“We live in a democracy that includes freedom of speech and rights – those two values that some other countries not only restrict but also enforce by force,” he said on social media platform X.
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“If this offends the outraged and communist lackeys who call it a ‘dangerous thing’ – welcome to New Zealand,” the minister added.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, whose National Party governs in coalition with NZ First, condemned W. Peters’ “inappropriate attention-seeking comments.”
This is not the first time W. Peters and his party, considered a decisive force in New Zealand’s divided political system, have faced criticism for racist remarks.
Earlier this year, W. Peters’ deputy Shane Jones criticized New Zealand’s free trade agreement with India, claiming it posed a risk of a “buttery chicken curry tsunami.”
Last year, W. Peters and S. Jones were forced to back down after the latter shouted “send the Mexicans home” at MP Francisco Hernandez during debates.
After this comment, W. Peters urged F. Hernandez, who was actually born in the Philippines, and L. Xu-Nan to “show some gratitude” for being in New Zealand.
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