SYDNEY: Australian police said on Wednesday (Feb 11) they have charged two Chinese nationals with foreign interference, accusing them of spying on a Buddhist group at the behest of police in China.
The pair – a 25-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman – have each been charged with one count of “reckless foreign interference”, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
When the two appear in court on Wednesday, police will allege they worked with a Chinese national charged last August for covertly gathering information on the Guan Yin Citta Buddhist group in Australia’s capital, Canberra.
They are alleged to have worked under the command of China’s Public Security Bureau, the country’s main domestic law enforcement body.
China’s embassy in Canberra did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Australia’s federal police said they began investigating the case last year on a tip from Canberra’s spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
Agency chief Mike Burgess said a “complex, challenging and changing security environment is becoming more dynamic, diverse and degraded”.
“Multiple foreign regimes are monitoring, harassing and intimidating members of our diaspora communities,” he said.
“This sort of behaviour is utterly unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.”
China’s sprawling security apparatus has long been accused of infiltrating community organisations as a way to keep tabs on expats and dissidents.
“Australia is not immune to foreign interference, and we should not expect this arrest will prevent further attempts to target our diaspora communities,” police counter terrorism and special investigations assistant commissioner Stephen Nutt said.
“Members of our culturally and linguistically diverse communities are more likely to be victims of foreign interference or transnational repression than to be offenders,” he added.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/australia-china-charged-two-nationals-foreign-interference-spy-5922341
