Chinese woman becomes third person charged under Australia’s foreign interference laws
Melbourne, Australia (AP) – A Chinese citizen was accused under Monday Australia last External intervention law Police, secretly gathering information about an Australian Buddhist Association.
The Australian Federal Police Commissioner Stephen Nutt police said that he was the first person to intervene in the general population, as the laws were accepted in 2018 in 2018, an Australian permanent resident of the capital Canberra -based CANBERRA.
In a Canberra court, the Buddhist Association Guan Yin was accused of secretly gathering information about a local branch of Citta on behalf of the Chinese Public Security Bureau.
The association was banned in China. The police did not detail the alleged goals.
“We claim to support the intelligence targets of the Chinese Public Security Bureau of the Chinese Public Security Bureau. The AFP blamed a person with alleged foreign intervention for the first time. He said.
“Foreign intervention is a serious crime that undermines democracy and social adaptation. It is a crime carried out by a foreign principal, or on behalf of a hidden and deceptive behavior or threat of serious damage or threatening demands, or on behalf of a threat of threatening.
The woman who was arrested at home on Saturday cannot be explained to the public for the court order. He was detained and faced a maximum of 15 years of imprisonment if he was convicted.
The Chinese Embassy in Canberra did not respond immediately to the request for comments on Monday.
He, the first foreign national accused within the scope of comprehensive laws Created a slit When they first announced in 2017, between Australia and China.
Melbourne Businessman and Local Community Leader Born in Vietnam Di Sanh Duong He was sentenced to two years nine months in prison last year after an attempt to influence a former Federal Government Minister on behalf of China.
Sydney businessman Alexander CSERGO In addition, two suspects were accused of foreign intervention for allegedly accepting payment for information from the Chinese spy. He claimed that he was not guilty of the accusation.
Mike BurgessGeneral Manager of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the country’s main domestic spy agency has made a significant contribution to the last arrest, he said.
Burgess said in a statement, “alleged foreign intervention is a terrible attack on Australian values, freedoms and sovereignty,” Burgess said.
The accusation comes as prime minister Anthony Arbanese China improves bilateral relations at new low levels under the previous Australian administration, including foreign intervention laws.
Albanian went to Beijing last month. Xi Jinping For the fourth time since the Australian leader, he was first named in 2022.
