Australian MP Gladys Liu Condemns COVID-19 Racism as ‘Un-Australian’
Federal Liberal MP Gladys Liu has hit out at racist attacks on ChineseAustralians during the COVID-19 outbreak, calling them “un-Australian”. In an interview with SBS News, the member for Chisholm shared her anger and sadness at the rising number of racist attacks on Chinese-Australians, calling for the population to band together to defeat the pandemic.
Several Asian-Australians have been the target of racist abuse since the outbreak of coronavirus in Australia including cases of verbal and physical abuse, being refused service at shops, death threats and vandalism.
Ms Liu condemned the attacks, saying they were unfair and came from “a small group of people who are so un-Australian”.
“I can understand that some people are angry at the situation with COVID-19. We are all suffering,” she said. “Unfortunately, we’ve got a small group of rogue people who have wrongly directed their anger at Chinese-Australians purely by association. Because the virus started in Wuhan.
“There is no reason why Chinese-Australians should be blamed or are responsible for COVID-19.”
Ms Liu also defended the need for an inquiry into the cause of coronavirus, saying it was the “common sense thing to do”. This comes despite claims from within China that the investigation proposed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison is racist and xenophobic.
“Only if you have an independent, scientific and transparent investigation will we learn the cause, spread and management of the pandemic,” she said.