Latest news with #foreigninterference
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Australian Foreign Minister Wong says foreign interference not tolerated after Chinese woman arrested
By Kirsty Needham and Liz Lee SYDNEY/BEIJING (Reuters) -Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday that Australia would not tolerate surveillance of its community by foreign governments, after a Chinese woman was charged with foreign interference and denied bail by a court. The woman, who has not entered a plea, appeared in court in Australia's capital Canberra on Monday after police charged her with "reckless foreign interference" for allegedly monitoring a Buddhist group in the city on behalf of a Chinese security agency. The court heard the woman's husband was a vice captain in a public security ministry in a Chinese province, and she had visited the Chinese consulate in Canberra in the days after her property was raided by police, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. In a series of television interviews on Tuesday, Wong said she couldn't comment on an individual case, but added Australia was taking a stand against foreign interference. "We do not tolerate harassment, intimidation, surveillance of Australians and we have a strong framework to deter foreign interference in our democracy," she said in an ABC radio interview. It is the third time charges have been brought under foreign interference laws introduced in Australia in 2018, and the first time a Chinese national has been charged under the legislation. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement the ministry "was not aware of the specifics of the case" but would closely follow developments and "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its citizens." "China has never interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, and firmly opposes any attempts to disrupt normal people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between China and relevant countries under the pretext of 'foreign interference'," the spokesperson added. A court suppression order has prevented media reporting the woman's name. The woman, who is also a permanent resident of Australia, faces a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment if she is convicted, according to Australian Federal Police. Police allege the woman was tasked by a Public Security Bureau of China to covertly gather information about the Canberra branch of Guan Yin Citta, a Buddhist group. China's embassy in Canberra did not respond to a request for comment.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
The alleged Chinese spy found in Canberra
Sam Hawley: This week, a Chinese woman was charged with foreign interference, in this case, accused of spying on Buddhists in Canberra. Today, foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic on the details of the case and the growing cost of foreign espionage. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. News report: Australian Federal Police have charged a Chinese national with foreign interference, alleging she was trying to collect information on a Canberra-based Buddhist group for China's security agencies. News report: The Australian Federal Police alleges the woman, an Australian permanent resident, was tasked with collecting information about the Canberra branch of Guan Yin Citta. She's been charged with one count of reckless foreign interference, which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years. Stephen Nutt, AFP Assistant Commissioner: We allege the activity was to support intelligence objectives of the China's Public Security Bureau. This is the first time the AFP has charged a person with foreign interference that allegedly involves targeting members of the Australian community. Sam Hawley: Stephen, the AFP allege they have caught a spy amongst us. Now, this is a Chinese woman. What do we know so far? What are police saying? Stephen Dziedzic: Well, Sam, police are alleging that this woman is responsible for conducting, essentially what they're saying, an act of foreign interference, that she's covertly gathering information about a Canberra branch of a Buddhist association. It's not a well-known one. It's called Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door. And they say that she's been doing this since 2022, and that she's been trying to harvest information about this religious group. She's also accused of working with others to do this. So, essentially, police are saying that she's recruited other people or worked with other people who are also trying to collect information for the Chinese government in support of their intelligence activities to try and get information about this group. Now, we cannot name this woman because there's a temporary suppression order in place. But police say that she was essentially behind what was a fairly sophisticated operation to try and closely monitor this group in Canberra. Stephen Nutt, AFP Assistant Commissioner: Foreign interference is a serious crime that undermines democracy and social cohesion. It is a crime carried out by a foreign principle that involves covert and deceptive conduct or threats of serious harm or menacing demands. Sam Hawley: Mm. Alright. So, the matter has been before the court, and an Australian Federal Police informant alleged the woman was actually communicating with a Chinese security bureau. Stephen Dziedzic: That's right. So, this security bureau isn't named, but presumably it's essentially a branch of the Ministry of State Security that's responsible for both external and internal security matters in the PRC. Now, they believe that this woman's been receiving what they've called taskings or orders from this public security bureau office through an encrypted app, and that was allegedly found on the woman's phone during a raid of her house last week. Sam Hawley: Right. OK. But what else have police said about the woman's links to China? Stephen Dziedzic: Well, this woman is still a Chinese national. She's a permanent resident in Australia, but at least according to the police, she's not a citizen of Australia. There's another very interesting link that police have put out as well. They've said in court that this woman's husband, who is apparently still in China, holds a position of what they've called a vice captain in a public security ministry in a Chinese province. They haven't named that province, and they haven't named the husband either. But there's more evidence there, according to the police, of fairly deep and personal links into China's vast security apparatus. Sam Hawley: Mm. Alright. So, Stephen, she's accused of being tasked to gather information about a Buddhist association in Canberra, Guan Yin Sitta. What exactly is that, and why would China be interested in it? Stephen Dziedzic: Yeah, this is a slightly confusing question to people, perhaps, who are outside the China-watching space. But, of course, you've got to remember the broader context here. China's government's an atheistic one. It's, in some ways, quite hostile to religion. It's certainly hostile, or at least wary, of religious groups that are operating within China. This group is one that Beijing considers a cult. It's effectively, according to various sources, either banned or outlawed in China. Sam Hawley: Well, what happens in the courts now, then? Because there was some discussion, wasn't there, about whether or not she was a flight risk or not? Stephen Dziedzic: Yeah, that's right. The woman's lawyer said she should be granted bail. We also heard, incidentally, that she visited the Chinese consulate in Canberra not long after her property was raided. So, China is very well aware of this case and is presumably watching it very closely. Presumably, the consulate and the embassy would be able to get her travel documents very quickly, if she wanted them, and if the embassy wanted to help her to leave. And so, the magistrate, for a range of reasons, basically refused bail, agreeing that she could be a flight risk. And, of course, the magistrate also said that if that did happen, if she managed to leave, then there was very little chance that she would probably come back, particularly given the fact there's no bilateral extradition treaty between Australia and China. Sam Hawley: OK, so let's just leave that case there for the moment. But let's speak more broadly about the threats now against Australia that really have our agencies deeply worried, I think it's safe to say. We've had an update this week, haven't we, from Mike Burgess. He's the Director-General of ASIO. So, what's he been telling us? Stephen Dziedzic: Look, Mike Burgess has been sounding the alarm on foreign interference for a number of years, but I think his tone was even more urgent in this speech. Mike Burgess, ASIO Director-General: I believe that we as a nation need to wake up to the cost of espionage, which is more than just financial. We need to understand espionage is not some quaint romantic fiction. It's a real, present and costly danger. Stephen Dziedzic: Mr Burgess said that China, Iran and Russia are three of the countries that are behind espionage, but he also said that Australians would be, quote, shocked by the number and also the names of the other countries that were also employing similar tactics. Mike Burgess, ASIO Director-General: The obvious candidates are very active. I've previously named China, Russia and Iran, but many other countries are also targeting anyone and anything that could give them strategic or tactical advantage. These countries want to covertly comprehend our political decision-making and policy priorities, including our alliances and partnerships. Stephen Dziedzic: Mr Burgess said there'd been 24 significant espionage and foreign interference operations that have been disrupted in the past three years alone. He said that was more than the previous eight. And he said that nation-states are spying at what he called unprecedented levels with unprecedented sophistication. Mike Burgess, ASIO Director-General: ASIO estimates the threat from espionage will only intensify. It is already more serious and sophisticated than ever before. So our response must also be more serious and sophisticated than ever before. Sam Hawley: And he obviously didn't name those other nations that we'd be shocked about. Stephen Dziedzic: He didn't, no. I mean, it is worth noting... Sam Hawley: Intriguing. Stephen Dziedzic: ...There has been public reporting about other countries engaging in espionage in Australia, including countries very friendly with Australia, including India. So it's not surprising, in a sense, that countries that are friendly to Australia, even close partners, might engage in espionage. But Mr Burgess is obviously convinced the problem's getting worse. Sam Hawley: Sure. And not only that, it's costing us a huge amount of money, isn't it? Stephen Dziedzic: Yeah, $12.5 billion, according to Mr Burgess. Sam Hawley: That's a year. Stephen Dziedzic: That's in the 2023-24 financial year alone. Not only that, he said that was probably an underestimate, probably a huge underestimate, because it's not capturing all of the espionage that's gone undeclared, undiscovered, and is largely unwatched. So he says that the true bill could be even higher. Of course, it's worth remembering this bill is not just, for example, information stolen. It's also the money that the federal government has to plough into organisations like ASIO in order to ward off foreign interference and espionage. But it is, yes, an eye-watering figure, even if it is a conservative estimate. Sam Hawley: And he did give some rather fascinating details, Stephen, about how far spies have actually gone to try to steal classified and commercially sensitive information. Just tell me about that. Stephen Dziedzic: Yeah, there was one fascinating little anecdote he told. He mentioned what he called a sensitive horticultural research facility in Australia that was not that long ago, apparently, paid a visit by a foreign delegation from an unnamed country. And apparently, one of the members of this delegation was caught trying to take photos of sensitive research. That was stopped, and apparently, the images were deleted. But then that same official then apparently snapped branches off what Mr Burgess calls a rare and valuable variety of fruit tree in order to steal them. Mike Burgess, ASIO Director-General: The delegate had snapped them off and smuggled them out of Australia. Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development. Stephen Dziedzic: So, horticultural spying is probably... You know, it's a long way from a James Bond film, but Mr Burgess is saying this is a real example of what people are getting up to. Sam Hawley: The Chinese woman we spoke about previously, she was arrested under these foreign interference laws. Now, they haven't been in place for that long, have they? But it's the third time that they've actually been used. Just tell me about that. Stephen Dziedzic: That's right. 2018, they were introduced into law, and this is only the third time they've been used. The other two cases that we've seen before, a Victorian man who was charged in November 2020 and then subsequently found guilty, a New South Wales man charged in April 2023, they were facing very different allegations. In the case of the Victorian man, it was essentially political interference, trying to build up links with political figures in Australia that could be then exploited by the Chinese government. In the other case, the allegation is that information was being collected to feed back again to the Chinese government. This is different. This is about... This is actually a woman who's facing a charge of directly spying on and trying to gather information about Australians in Australia. Not only that, she's also a foreign national. The other two people who've been charged previously were both Australian citizens. So, in that sense, this is a bit of a landmark case. And unsurprisingly, the government has been keen to pounce on it. Tony Burke, the Home Affairs Minister, said immediately afterward that the government's message to people who were trying to threaten or interfere with the Australian community was very clear, quote, "'Our law enforcement and intelligence agencies will find you.'" Sam Hawley: Yeah, our spies will find your spies. Right. OK. So, from your reporting, Stephen, is it clear whether or not the threat from China is actually getting worse at this point? Do we know? Stephen Dziedzic: We don't know for sure, but all of the anecdotal evidence points to the fact it is getting worse. That is reflected not just in the language of people like Mike Burgess, but also, I think, in the language that the government uses, including privately when it discusses the scale of the threat. China has many reasons to spy on Australia. Of course, and as we know, it's not just China. It's broader than that. But as the sort of most well-resourced and high-profile country, it's worth zeroing in. There are many reasons for China to target Australia. And as it finds itself under increasingly acute pressure from the Trump administration, there are more incentives for China to look to gain what advantage it can from other Western nations. So, if you look at both the international dynamics driving this, the geostrategic dynamics, as well as the increasingly authoritarian internal dynamics within China, there are an awful lot of reasons to think that this might continue to get worse before it gets any better. Sam Hawley: And none of that really bodes well, does it, for the relationship with China, which had seemed to be improving after Anthony Albanese's trip there. Stephen Dziedzic: Yeah, that's true. But the government seems confident that it can balance these two things quite deftly. I mean, at some point, you're right. The gap between rhetoric and reality becomes unbridgeable and things may well start to break down. But I'm stealing a phrase here from Richard McGregor from the Lowy Institute, but it's a good one. Australia and China are basically embracing whilst fighting at the moment. On the one hand, you've got a roaring commercial relationship. On the other hand, you've also got this shadowy contest in the foreign interference space with both China and Australia pouring more and more resources into their intelligence agencies behind the scenes. But Australia remains comfortable that it can walk this very fine line with China, which is, of course, both our largest trading partner and our largest source of security anxiety. And this case, as well as what we've heard from Mike Burgess over recent days, illustrates that very, very powerfully. Sam Hawley: Stephen Dziedzic is the ABC's foreign affairs reporter. This episode was produced by Sydney Pead. Audio production by Sam Dunn. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I'm Sam Hawley. Thanks for listening.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
UAE funding Colombian mercenaries in African state
Sudan's government says it has 'irrefutable' evidence confirming that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is financing foreign mercenaries, including Colombians, fighting alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group locked in a brutal civil war with the African state's army. In a statement on Monday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said 'hundreds of thousands' of militants from 'certain' neighboring countries and beyond Africa, involved in aggression against the government, are also being sponsored by Emirati authorities. 'The Permanent Mission of Sudan to the United Nations in New York has previously submitted this evidence to the United Nations Security Council,' the ministry said, warning that the 'unprecedented phenomenon poses a serious threat to peace and security in the region and across the continent.' Fighting erupted between the paramilitary group and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in mid-April 2023, after months of tension between the two commanders over integrating their forces under a planned transition to civilian rule. Thousands have been killed, but regional and international efforts to broker a ceasefire have so far failed. On Tuesday, the UAE's Foreign Ministry 'categorically' rejected Khartoum's latest claims, calling them 'false and unfounded.' 'The UAE affirms that these baseless allegations, entirely devoid of evidence, are nothing more than feeble media stunts aimed at diverting attention from the Port Sudan Authority's direct responsibility for prolonging the civil war,' it stated. In May, Sudan's government severed diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi, accusing it of violating Sudanese sovereignty by supplying weapons to its 'local agent,' the RSF. The decision followed a setback for Sudan at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which on May 5 dismissed a genocide case Khartoum had filed against the UAE. Sudan had accused the Gulf nation of supplying arms and funding to the RSF, particularly in connection with ethnic violence against the Masalit people in West Darfur. The court said it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, citing the UAE's reservation upon joining the Genocide Convention in 2005.
ABC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
What is Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, the Australian religious organisation allegedly being spied on by China?
A religious organisation founded in Australia and banned in China is at the centre of an alleged spying case. On Monday, a Chinese national appeared in the ACT Magistrate's Court charged under foreign interference laws. The woman, an Australian permanent resident whose name has been suppressed by the court, was accused of collecting information about the Canberra branch of Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door for the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was only the third time police had used the new foreign interference laws introduced in 2018. If found guilty, the accused woman could face up to 15 years in prison. So what is Guan Yin Citta and why would it be in China's crosshairs? According to its website, Guan Yin Citta is a Buddhist group belonging to the Mahayana tradition. "It encourages people to recite Buddhist scriptures, practise life liberation and make great vows to help more people," it says. ASIC records show Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door is the business name for the Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity, registered in Chippendale, New South Wales. The charity aims to advance and share knowledge of Buddhism, records on the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission website say. However, the organisation is banned in China and a number of adherents there have reportedly been prosecuted by the authorities. According to a Chinese state media report from 2017, a man was sentenced to five years in prison for printing and distributing a text linked to the organisation, called the Spiritual Method, that allegedly endangered social order. When asked about the foreign interference case, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson in Beijing this week said the government was "not familiar with the specifics". "We never interfere in other countries' internal affairs, and in the meanwhile, firmly oppose any disruption to the normal people-to-people interactions, exchanges and cooperation between China and relevant country under the pretext of foreign interference," he said. "China will follow this case closely and protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals." Guan Yin Citta was contacted for comment but did not respond. Guan Yin Citta was founded by the late Lu Junhong, who was born in Shanghai and studied opera before moving in 1989 to Australia to do a business degree. He later became an Australian citizen. Master Lu, as he was called, hosted regular radio shows discussing Buddhist teachings in Sydney. He is believed to have founded Guan Yin Citta around 2010. Branches spread in China and around the world in the following years, including to the US, UK and Singapore, with the organisation claiming some 10 million followers worldwide. The Chinese government estimates it has 3 million but the ABC has been unable to verify either number. A large proportion of followers are understood to be Chinese nationals living abroad. Professor Benjamin Penny, from the Australian National University's School of Culture, History, and Language, described Guan Yin Citta as a "new religious movement". "It comes out of the Buddhist tradition but that's not to say it's orthodox," he said. He said the group was rejected by some Buddhist organisations primarily because Mr Lu founded the group without any connection — or "lineage" — to any existing Buddhist movement. He also claimed to be the manifestation of the bodhisattva Guan Yin. "He claimed to have knowledge of the past and the present and the future, to be able to heal diseases — or at least to provide ritual methods by which diseases can be healed," Professor Penny said. The organisation's website has testimonials from followers saying that Mr Lu's methods helped with everything from curing their cancer, moving to Australia and clearing personal debts. One of the group's videos, filmed at a large event, shows an older man who uses a wheelchair being able to walk again. A visit by Mr Lu to Malaysia in 2018 prompted nine Buddhist groups and organisations to issue a statement saying many of his teachings went "against Buddhism". "There has never been a high monk or learned Buddhist propagator who publicly self-proclaims to be the incarnation or spokesperson of a certain bodhisattva," a group told Malaysia's Star newspaper. The organisations also took issue with Mr Lu's claimed ability to read "totems". Mr Lu wrote in his book, Introduction to the Guan Yin Citta, that he could read someone's totem, which was "in heaven", according to one's birth year, Chinese zodiac sign and gender. He said that he could then collect information about one's past, present and future lives. "No matter how great the distance is, you just need to give me a phone call. Then I can instantly see the house that you live in, your family members, and everything about you," he wrote. Mr Lu died in Sydney in November 2021, however, the group has continued. In the 2023-24 financial year, the Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity received more than $5 million in donations and recorded a $4,194,469 profit after tax. Professor Penny said it was unclear who was now running the group. "They still have an active Facebook site, for instance, and they still quote [Mr Lu] — pretty anodyne stuff, it seems to me. "I don't know who's in charge now, and that's an important question because he started the group, he ran it, he's the main guy, he's the boss, he's the fountain of all wisdom, et cetera, and he's gone. "So who's controlling what now is an interesting question and I don't have an answer to it." Professor Penny said the only authorised religions in China were Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Protestant Christianity and Catholic Christianity. He said Guan Yin Citta was considered a xie jiao, which translates to "heterodox teaching" or "evil cult" by the Chinese authorities — however, it was unclear if it was on the "official" lists. "Over many years, the Communist Party or the PRC government has declared many things to be in this category and then suppressed them … Falun Gong is probably the most famous," he said. The not-for-profit humanitarian organisation the Dui Hua Human Rights Foundation keeps track of political and religious prisoners in China. It reported that since 2015, it had found more than a dozen cases of people who were linked to the group being prosecuted in China. Politics professor Ming Xia, from the City University of New York, explained that religions tied to Buddhism could be seen as a threat to the CCP's overarching philosophy and long-term political strategies. Last year, the CCP announced new "Great United Front" and "Great Security" policies, he said. "This is to put Tibetan affairs, Xinjiang affairs, Taiwan affairs, and overseas Chinese affairs all into a unified pattern, linked with public security and national security, and become an important part of the CCP's national security," said Professor Xia. "So, it will definitely intensify the very comprehensive infiltration, suppression, and threat to Tibetans, Xinjiang, Taiwanese, Hong Kong people, and exiled pro-democracy activists, which is the fundamental reason why China is infiltrating some of the major religious organisations in Australia or the United States." Professor Penny said the Chinese government was interested in any Chinese diaspora groups that it did not control. "It's a question of loyalty, right? They would see the government on the one hand and the other hand, a religious group they would be more loyal to," he said. "When push came to shove, I'm not sure what the Chinese government thinks this group would potentially be able to do, but they have taken it upon themselves for decades to eradicate these groups in large part because they don't control them." He said the Chinese government allegedly trying to suppress Australian-based groups was "perhaps new". "Perhaps it's only now we're taking notice of it," he said.
The Australian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Australian
Chinese government rejects ‘foreign interference' claim
Beijing has rejected claims its intelligence services are meddling in Australia after a Chinese national was charged with 'reckless foreign interference'. The alleged agent, a permanent resident of Australia, is accused of covertly collecting information about the Canberra branch of Buddhist association Guan Yin Citta on behalf of China's Public Security Bureau. Guan Yin Citta is banned in China. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said overnight his government was 'not familiar with the specifics' of the case. 'Let me say more that as a principle, China develops relations with other countries, including Australia, on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of others,' he said, as cited by the state-controlled Global Times. 'China never interferes in other countries' internal affairs, and, meanwhile, firmly opposes any disruption to the normal people-to-people interactions, exchanges, and co-operation between China and relevant countries under the pretext of foreign interference. 'China will follow this case closely and protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese nationals.' The Global Times is a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP has a history of exerting its influence in Australia to keep the Chinese diaspora in line. Analysts have long warned of the party's efforts to undermine key industries and suppress free speech on university campuses, with Chinese students dobbing in fellow students who voice views that rub Beijing up the wrong way. The Albanese government, which has sought to gloss over touchy topics with China in the pursuit of better economic ties, has responded cautiously to news of the suspected agent in Canberra. The Chinese government says it 'never interferes in other countries' internal affairs'. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire / Nicolas Tucat / AFP Though, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has vowed the Albanese government 'will safeguard our democracy'. 'Our democracy is about who we are,' Senator Wong told the ABC on Tuesday. 'And that means we will stand together against any foreign interference. 'We have strong frameworks in place. 'We will not tolerate collectively, or as a government, Australians being harassed or surveilled. We will continue to safeguard the democracy.' On relations with Beijing, she said 'dialogue matters'. 'Dialogue is important. Dialogue enables us to manage difference, but it doesn't eliminate it,' Senator Wong said. Read related topics: China Ties
