Australian billionaire apologizes for remarks about Chinese “mongrels” and “bastards”

Clive Palmer has sent a letter to the Chinese embassy in Canberra, the capital of Australia, in which he apologizes to “Chinese people everywhere” for the remarks he made eight days ago where he called the Chinese government “mongrels” who “shoot their own people” and “haven’t got a justice system”.

Palmer, a billionaire who is well known as the owner of the Minerology mining company and the founder Australia’s Palmer United Party, apologized to China’s ambassador to Australia for “any insult to the Chinese people caused by any of the language I used”. He added that strong ties between China and Australia were in the best interest of everyone.

“We always must have an open mind; an open mind allows us to put ourselves in the other person’s position and brings greater understanding and less conflict to the world,” said Palmer in the letter. “An open mind at least helps me understand why people think the way they do and how we can avoid traps for better understanding. 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, that I am sorry that I said the things I said on the program.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop welcomed Palmer’s apology, but noted that it should have much sooner than it did. The Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Ma Zhaoxu, issued a statement regarding the insulting remarks, saying that such attacks are “doomed to failure” because Australia-China relations were too strong to be undermined by one person.

“The Chinese people are never to be insulted. Any remarks attacking or slandering China would not gain support and were doomed to failure,” Zhaoxu said. “The healthy and stable development of China-Australia relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, and cannot be overturned by any individual”.

Read more about the story at The Australian.