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"Strathfield has a high population of Koreans. To assume they are Chinese is racist and quite stupid"

Australian PM Scott Morrison was filmed saying “ni hao” to a Korean voter

As reported by the Independent, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was caught on camera saying “ni hao” to a voter who replied, “no, I’m Korean.”

Morrison had visited Strathfield suburb in Sydney to begin campaigning for parliamentary elections on 18 May, which he recently announced.

The Liberal Party leader was seen shaking hands with members of the public when he said, “Hello, how are you? Ni hao, how are you?” to a woman who he assumed was Chinese.

In response, the woman said, “no, no, no, I’m Korean.” 

The gaffe occurred just after the PM had visited a Korean restaurant in Strathfield.

Social media users were not impressed by the PM’s blunder. One user pointed out that Strathfield has a sizeable Korean population.

“Strathfield has a high population of Koreans. To assume they are Chinese is racist and quite stupid,” the user said.

“Scott Morrison walking around Strathfield Plaza saying ni hao to people he thinks are Chinese has set a very high standard for the rest of the campaign to match,” said another.

Others simply called the PM out for racism.

“AUS PM Scott Morrison probably can’t understand why there’s a problem. “But I was speaking Asian to her! I was speaking HER language – Asian!” Is the PM just smugly ignorant or is he racist?” one person wrote.