Australian think tank ASPI is ‘not independent or scientific’: MFA

By Agencies Published: Oct 24, 2020 12:49 PM

Photo taken on June 23, 2020 shows the logo of Australian Strategic Policy Institute in an office building, in Canberra, Australia.(Xinhua)

China's Foreign Ministry called the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) "unreasonable" on Friday, and described the institution as "not independent or scientific."

Earlier, a documentary published by China Daily drew major attention in Australia. The documentary shows that so-called China-related research by ASPI was actually funded by the US government and weapon makers. ASPI responded, claiming that it was an independent institution, and claimed the documentary was a tool for China to evade criticism.

Regarding this latest response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that it was bogus. He stressed that the ASPI is neither independent nor scientific. It makes its living by publishing fake news critical of China. It is not a popular body in its home country.

Zhao explained that the ASPI has long been funded by the US government and weapon makers, and the institution's reports on China lack basic facts, have no academic value, and totally violate professional ethics.

"In the reports, they even mark interactive maps as satellite pictures, which indicate that the opinions and sources are probably from US reactionary NGOs, and the ASPI uses some alleged eye-witness evidence which can't be verified or traced."

Zhao said that the institution has been sneered at by elites from Australia. Jocelyn Chey, the former Australian consul general in Hong Kong, criticized a scholar named Hamilton of the ASPI, saying that Hamilton lacks a basic understanding of the Chinese political system. Bob Carr, retired Australian minister for foreign affairs, denounced the ASPI for its one-sided and US-slanted perspective.

"This institution has already been notorious in China for its slippery nature, and made a fool of itself in the international community," Zhao said. "We hope that people will not be fooled by its palpable lies anymore and will boycott this rumor mill together."