A Gold Coast man allegedly involved in a plot to traffic military hardware from Russia to China is “shocked and distressed” over being charged,his lawyer claims outside court.
Two men have been charged and a warrant is out for a Chinese national as part of what official sources say is a wider investigation into Chinese government espionage in Australia.
Making bold claims about national security is a well-worn tactic in Australian politics,especially when an election looms.
The oldest of Australian political scare campaigns returns as PM Scott Morrison paints Labor as a puppet of communist China.
Named in Parliament this week,Chau Chak Wing has a long history of supporting both sides of politics.
Labor senator Kimberley Kitching used parliamentary privilege on Monday night to name the alleged puppeteer behind a foreign interference plot in Australia.
The plot was foiled by the nation’s counter-espionage agency ASIO,preventing the Chinese spies from installing sympathetic candidates into Labor’s preselection process.
Scott Morrison has been blocked from accessing his WeChat account in a move some government MPs have likened to foreign interference ahead of an election.
New foreign interference guidelines will instead give universities the final say on which staff must disclose their connections to foreign governments and their overseas financial links.
Labor’s home affairs spokeswoman said she didn’t know the man was the head of a peak Chinese propaganda body when she met with him.
The 1500 members of the Hong Kong election committee have all been vetted by the Chinese security agencies and will help select almost half the Hong Kong legislature in 2022.