China has formally lodged a complaint following an intense parliamentary exchange in Wellington, during which New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters instructed a Chinese-born lawmaker to return to his own country. The incident occurred on Wednesday as Green Party MP Lawrence Xu-Nan, who was born in Tianjin, China, but raised in New Zealand, questioned Peters regarding the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically asking, "Are you vaccinated?"
Peters, who leads the NZ First party, retorted by claiming the lawmaker had only arrived in the country "five minutes ago." He then told the MP, "Go back to your own country," and further remarked, "This is called a democracy, unlike what you're used to. Go back to where you've come from, you loudmouth."
Speaking to 1News on Thursday, Xu-Nan criticized the Foreign Minister’s actions, stating that it was unbelievable for a high-ranking official to scapegoat migrant communities as a diversionary tactic to deflect from government failures. The controversy drew a rare public response from Wang Xiaolong, China’s ambassador to New Zealand. Writing on the platform X, the ambassador noted that while he generally avoids commenting on domestic political matters, he felt compelled to observe that such statements often reveal more about the speaker than anyone else.
Despite the backlash, Peters has maintained his position, framing his comments as a defense of democratic freedoms and free speech. He asserted on X that he would not retreat from his stance. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, whose National Party leads the government in a coalition with NZ First, described the remarks as "inappropriate attention-seeking."
This is not the first time members of the NZ First party have faced scrutiny for similar rhetoric. Last year, Shane Jones, who serves as Peters' deputy, shouted "send the Mexicans home" at MP Francisco Hernandez, who was born in the Philippines. That incident led to an official diplomatic communication from Mexico's ambassador, Alfredo Pérez Bravo, to New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. While Peters eventually withdrew his support for Jones’ comments, acknowledging they could have been phrased differently, the recent incident involving Xu-Nan has renewed tensions regarding the conduct of his party members.
