China Australia Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday again fired back at  Australian and US accusations of China "fabricating" the photo of Australian soldiers' crimes in , slamming the two countries for displaying clear double-standards and hypocrisy.

"The Australian Defense Department's investigation report is based on information confirmed by the Chief of the Defence Force, so how can some people in Australia and the US accuse China of fabricating photos and spreading false information? Are these photos and the report false?" Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying asked while showing the print copy of the inquiry report by the Australian Defense Department and photos depicting the atrocities by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan to journalists at Wednesday's press conference.

The illustration that is going viral online is not a "photo", but a computer graphic created by a young Chinese artist. The graphic is based on the information reported by Australian media and confirmed by an inquiry report issued by the Australian Defense Department [which reveals Australian soldiers' crimes in Afghanistan], Hua said, after the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called it a "falsified photo." 

Morrison said "Australia will remain true to our values and protect our sovereignty" in a post on Tuesday. 

Shortly after, the US State Department's deputy spokesman Cale Brown accused China of fabricating the image of the Australian soldiers in a tweet, and said the fabricated image of the soldier was "a new low."

When answering the related questions, Hua responded with a series of her own questions. 

"What are the values that Australia wants to uphold? Are the crimes that have been disclosed and proven in Afghanistan consistent with Australian values? Australian soldiers killed innocent people but the country does not allow others to comment. Is this in line with Australia's values?" Hua said. 

"Fabricating facts out of thin air to attack and smear others while banning others from commenting on its wrongdoing - is this consistent with Australian values?" Hua continued.

"If you have done something wrong but refused to accept criticism, how can you make others believe that you truly know your mistake and will correct your mistake?" she said.

Australia and the US keep preaching their values of democracy, human rights and freedom, but what they do is a violation of all of these, and typical double-standard and hypocrisy, Hua said.

Global Times