The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO)is investigating wehina plotted to plant a Chinese spy in the Parliament House in Canberra.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the national security agency of Australia, has announced in public that it is investigating whether People’s Republic of China plotted to plant a Chinese spy in the Parliament House in Canberra.
The announcement was made in after Nine Network, a free-to-air Australian Television Network, first alleged in their weekly programme ‘60 Minutes’ that a suspected Chinese espionage ring approached a Chinese-Australian man to run as a Member of Parliament (MP). However, ASIO claims that it started investigations much before the news was aired on TV and published in the newspaper on Sunday, i.e., November 24, 2019.
According to the allegations, the Chinese agents approached a luxury car dealer – Nick Zhao, ahead of Australia’s Federal Elections, which were scheduled to held in May 2019. They allegedly offered him A$ 1 million (U.S. $ 680,000) to fund his run for a Melbourne Seat as a candidate for the ruling Liberal Party, of which Zhao was already a member.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister of Australia – Scott Morrison said, “I find the allegations deeply disturbing and troubling.”
He further added, “Australia is not naive to the threats that it faces more broadly.”
Zhao was approached by Chinese espionage network in 2018. He had, at that time, informed the ASIO. Later in March 2019, he was found dead in a hotel room. The Nine Network also reported that a man, Wang “William” Liqiang, claiming to be a Chinese spy has applied for asylum in Australia, in an unrelated case.
During the interaction on Nine Network, Wang confirmed he had been a spy for China. He also gave information about operations in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia. However, Chinese officials have dismissed the claims of Wang and have said that he is an unemployed fugitive who was convicted of fraud before fleeing from China on a fake passport.
The Director-General of Security, ASIO – Mike Burgess said in the statement, “The reporting on Nine’s 60 Minutes contains allegations that ASIO takes seriously. Australians can be reassured that ASIO was previously aware of matters that have been reported today and has been actively investigating them.”
The Head of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee – Andrew Hastie, has also confirmed that he was aware of these allegations for months.
Separately, earlier in 2019, a newly elected Chinese-Australian MP – Gladys Liu, faced severe scrutiny owing to her past links with Beijing-associated groups. She strongly denied all the allegations. At that time, Scott Morrison had also asserted she had been the victim of a smear campaign.
For the records, China and Australia are important trading partners. Today, China is Australia’s largest trading partner in terms of both imports and exports. Australia is 6th largest trading partner of China. Talking of imports, 25% of Australia’s manufactured imports come from China. But the relations hit a low in recent years over China’s increasing involvement in Australia’s domestic affairs. Also, Australia, an ally of United States (U.S.) has also banned Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from doing business in China.
