Australia investigating China spy claims

SYDNEY - Australia's domestic intelligence agency will investigate claims by a Chinese diplomat seeking asylum that Beijing is operating a network of some 1000 spies and informants in Australia, officials said yesterday.

Justice Minister Chris Ellison told parliament the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) would interview Chen Yonglin, the political affairs consul at Sydney's Chinese consulate who has sought asylum.

"Certainly it would be naive to think these allegations are not being looked at closely by the relevant (intelligence) authorities," said Ellison.

Chen, 37, who is in hiding with his family for fear of being kidnapped and whisked back to China, has said his role at the consulate was to spy on and persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong is an amalgam of religions, meditation and exercises that the Chinese government branded as an evil cult after 10,000 members surrounded the leadership's Beijing compound in a surprise dawn protest in 1999.

Fearing that the spiritual movement could present an organised challenge to its authority, the Communist Party has cracked down on Falun Gong over the past few years.

Chen said China had a network of some 1000 spies and informants in Australia.

Another asylum seeker, Hao Fengjun, who claims to be a former state security officer, has backed Chen's spy claims.

"I can confirm that the relevant authorities have made arrangements with both individuals ... to obtain information regarding the allegations they have made," said Ellison.

Greens Party leader Bob Brown, who has helped Chen formally apply for political asylum, last week accused the Australian government of putting security at risk because ASIO had not yet contacted Chen.

China, which is Australia's third-largest trading partner with annual trade worth A$28.9 ($31.53) billion, is in talks with Canberra on a free trade deal and a separate pact to import Australian uranium. Australia and China have said the diplomat's asylum bid would not harm relations.

- REUTERS