The Chinese government submitted an official protest to New Zealand after Winston Peters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, told a Chinese-descent MP to "go back to your country" during a parliamentary debate on COVID-19 response. Peters faced heavy criticism for racial discrimination. New Zealand's Prime Minister condemned the remark as inappropriate, while Peters insisted on not retracting his statement, citing it as a defense of the country's democracy.
The Chinese Embassy in New Zealand revealed that it had submitted an official protest letter to New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and leader of the New Zealand First party, making remarks about China during a parliamentary session.
The embassy stated that it expressed serious concern over "negative remarks related to China" and urged New Zealand to adopt policies conducive to bilateral relations rather than damaging the relationship between the two countries.
Wang Xiaolong, the Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand, posted on the platform X that although he normally does not interfere in New Zealand's internal politics, "sometimes words reflect the speaker more than anything else."
The incident occurred during a debate on COVID-19 response on 29 July, after Lawrence Xu-Nan, a Green Party MP born in Tianjin, China, but raised in Auckland, New Zealand, asked Peters, "Have you been vaccinated?"
Peters responded harshly, saying, "Go back to your country," adding, "There they lie like a fish scales, but here is not like that," and further stating, "This is democracy, not what you are used to. Go back to where you came from, you loudmouth." His remarks drew widespread criticism both inside and outside Parliament.
Christopher Luxon, New Zealand's Prime Minister, who leads a coalition government including New Zealand First, criticized Peters' words as "attention-seeking" and inappropriate. He emphasized that the National Party and government support New Zealand's Chinese community and want representatives to focus on solving people's problems rather than seeking attention.
Simon Brown, National Party's campaign spokesperson, described the remarks as "racist," while Carmel Sepuloni, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, called for Peters to be removed as Foreign Minister, stating that someone holding a key diplomatic position should not make such comments.
Tamatha Paul, a Green Party MP, said that if she had the power, she would immediately remove Peters, emphasizing that "racism is unacceptable."
Despite heavy criticism, Peters refused to retract his comments and posted on X that New Zealand is a democracy valuing freedom of expression, unlike some countries that restrict freedoms by force. He also called his critics "overreacting people" and "servants of communists."
New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Peters had been informed about the protest from the Chinese Embassy but continued to insist that his remarks aimed to protect New Zealand's democracy.
Lawrence Xu-Nan told TVNZ that Peters was using the immigrant community as a "scapegoat" to divert attention from government performance. The incident also prompted Melissa Darby, New Zealand's Race Relations Commissioner, to express disappointment, stating that politicians should be aware of the societal impact of their words and avoid creating division for political gain.
This incident is one among several cases where New Zealand First party politicians have been criticized for racially charged language. Previously, Shane Jones, the party's deputy leader, compared a free trade agreement with India to a "butter chicken curry tsunami," which was criticized as insulting to Indians.
Additionally, Peters and Jones faced pressure to retract remarks made during parliamentary debates last year telling "Mexicans to go home," despite the MP being referred to actually being of Filipino descent.
China is New Zealand's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade exceeding NZD 41 billion (approximately 800 billion baht) in the fiscal year ending September 2025. This incident is being closely watched for potential impacts on diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries going forward.