'Don't be stupid, confess to ASIO': Ex-Chinese spy calls out Beijing's Australian espionage efforts, welcomes recent arrest
On Monday, the Australian Federal Police announced a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been arrested and charged with one count of reckless foreign interference.
The woman, who is a permanent Australian resident, allegedly worked to "covertly gather information" about Canberra's Guan Yin Citta Buddhist association on behalf of China's Public Security Bureau.
The Chinese Communist Party considers the Buddhist group, which also has members in mainland China, a cult.
An ex-Chinese spy has welcomed the arrest of an Australian woman for espionage-related offences as he called out Beijing's intelligence and foreign influence campaigns. Picture: Getty Images
In an exclusive interview with Sky News Australia's Cheng Lei, former Chinese spy, Eric, hailed the arrest, saying it was important Australian authorities worked to counter Beijing's efforts to gather intelligence and exert influence at the community level.
"What I've noticed in this case is the change to taking action on a spy that's working in a Chinese community organisation, I think it may be the first time," he said.
"We know the Chinese government has invested significantly in local community organisations in order to quash dissidents, but also to affect voting and politics. So investing in local communities to counter that is the right thing."
Asked whether the woman was acting alone or as part of a larger network of spies, Eric suggested evidence provided by the AFP pointed to the former - although he also warned Beijing had likely established a "large" presence in Australia.
On Monday, the Australian Federal Police announced a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been arrested and charged with one count of reckless foreign interference. Picture: Supplied
Commenting on the CCP's objectives more broadly, the former spy explained foreign agents had two main aims when conducting operations.
"The CCP's spying in Australia takes place in two tracks. One is to quieten criticism against the Chinese government, to ensure its governance security, another is in geopolitics, that may include business, technology, military intel," he said.
"China views Australia as important role in geopolitical terms, because we all know if there is military conflict between the US and China in the west pacific, Australia's location is critical.
"So the CCP would invest a lot of resources to affect Australian politics and extract military secrets, to ensure Australia would remain neutral, or to defeat the US and Australia's allies."
Eric added Chinese spies would work to "foster and develop agents over a long time" in order to avoid detection, including by offering financial incentives to those they believed had valuable information.
Asked what any Australian resident being manipulated or approached by China should do, the former spy was unequivocal.
"I would say, don't be stupid, first you may be arrested (the) Chinese government would never say 'you're our guys', forget it," he said.
"China may start a war in the future, do you want to live in a war country? Don't be stupid, confess to ASIO or police if you are a spy."
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