A woman donning a face mask crosses a street in Melbourne's central business district on June 17, 2020. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP)

BEIJING - China on Wednesday urged the Australian side to respect the voice of the victims of discrimination and violence in Australia, face up to the problems and really think about what went wrong on their side.

The issuance of travel advisory and study alert on Australia based on a host of facts is part of the Chinese government's responsibility and obligation to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of its citizens including students.

 Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks in response to Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne's recent claim that China's warning against traveling to Australia is "disinformation" and that Australia may have made itself a target by speaking out for a review on coronavirus, but it had been in Australia's best long-term interests.

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"The issuance of travel advisory and study alert on Australia based on a host of facts is part of the Chinese government's responsibility and obligation to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of its citizens including students," Zhao told a daily press briefing.

"We are talking about the plain fact of existing discrimination and violence in Australia, but this Australian official labeled it as 'disinformation'," he said. "Then may I ask what about the rights and interests and feelings of those victims?"

"To be candid, we don't think it is 'in Australia's best long-term interests' when certain people, acting out of their own political interests, choose to turn away from facts and engage in politicizing the pandemic and sabotaging relevant international cooperation," Zhao said.  

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