NZ foreign minister’s remarks prompt Chinese protest

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters has sparked a diplomatic incident and domestic political crisis after telling a Chinese-born member of parliament to "go back to your own country" during a heated parliamentary exchange on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. The remarks, made in the debating chamber in Wellington, have drawn a formal diplomatic complaint from China, condemnation from the prime minister, and accusations of racism from opposition lawmakers.

The incident occurred during a debate on New Zealand's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Green Party MP Lawrence XuNan, who was born in Tianjin, China, but moved to New Zealand as a child in 1994, asked Peters if he was vaccinated. Peters, the leader of the NZ First party, responded by telling XuNan he had "come here five minutes ago" before stating, "Go back to your own country." He added, "This is called a democracy, unlike what you're used to. Go back to where you've come from, you loudmouth."

In a rare intervention, China's ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiaolong, commented on the social media platform X. While stating he normally avoids domestic politics, the ambassador wrote that "sometimes, a statement says more...