SMDH.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently chatted with constituents ahead of the country’s upcoming election in May. Morrison, who’s seeking reelection, greeted a Korean voter with “Ni Hao,” or “hello” in Mandarin.
The constituent was quick to correct him, telling Morrison, “No, no, I’m Korean.”
The moment was pretty *cringe*.
.@ScottMorrisonMP has had his first street walk of his campaign in the inner west Sydney suburb of Strathfield, greeting locals and visiting a restaurant.@annelisenews: There was a bit of confusion about what kind of restaurant he was in.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 13, 2019
MORE: https://t.co/ykweMevBOK #auspol pic.twitter.com/BZcxWBTVuz
Needless to say, Asians on the internet weren’t exactly pleased with Morrison’s mixup. And some pointed out that Morrison should’ve greeted the woman as he did every other Australian.
My first policy if elected will be mandatory “Which kind of Asian are they?” training for Scott Morrison. https://t.co/LfpOZYOScy
— michael hing (@hingers) April 13, 2019
If the woman is a voter, why doesn't he treat her as an Australian, not a Chinese, not a Korean? Would he say "bonjour" to a Caucasian looking woman at a rally for an election in Australia? https://t.co/QlIDLsEfer
— Virak Ou (@ouvirak) April 16, 2019
As an Asian-Australian I have never once greeted another Asian-Australian with “Ni hao”, even when I know they speak Mandarin. It’s not a thing we do.
— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) April 13, 2019
"Oh, I see that you are a person of non-white ethnicity! Allow me to dazzle you with my extensive repertoire of non-white language and custom." ScoMo is such a doorknob https://t.co/j6oQTyhFs3
— Ian Young (@ianjamesyoung70) April 14, 2019
Morrison has since attempted to make light of the flub, telling the crowd at Chinese Australian Liberal candidate Gladys Liu, that he’s “no Asian languages expert, so I’m gonna say g’day to everybody.”
For the record, “hello” in Korean is “annyeong haseyo.”
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