Chinese paper calls for Palmer sanctions
Clive Palmer's anti-China tirade has attracted a scathing rebuke from a Chinese newspaper, which says Beijing should consider imposing sanctions on the mining magnate and his companies.
The state-owned English-language Global Times, a tabloid with a reputation for courting controversy, says Mr Palmer's televised harangue was "the most vicious attack by one of the Australian elite" in months.
Mr Palmer called the Chinese "bastards" and "mongrels" who shoot their own people on ABC television earlier this week. One of his senators, Jacqui Lambie, later warned of the threat of a Chinese invasion of Australia.
In an editorial on Wednesday, The Global Times said China shouldn't let Mr Palmer off the hook for his "nonsense".
"China should consider imposing sanctions on Palmer and his companies, cutting off all business contacts with him and forbidding him and his senior executives into China," the paper says.
"The sanctions could also be given to any Australian companies which have business dealings with Palmer's. China must let those prancing provocateurs know how much of a price they pay when they deliberately rile us."
Moreover, Mr Palmer's "rampant rapscality" serves as a symbol that Australian society has an unfriendly attitude toward China, it says.
The paper also labels Australia a "double-dealer" by cosying up to the US and Japan while reaping economic gains from China's rise.