Australia Names China in Foreign Interference Investigation

The Chinese embassy in Canberra, Australia. Chinese consulate officials deny that China has interfered with Australia’s government (Wikimedia Commons).

Researcher Dirk van der Kley called for the appointment of a foreign interference commissioner in Australia this week after Australia began its first foreign interference investigation against China. Dr. van der Kley, who works for the think tank China Matters, proposed that the foreign interference commissioner be based out of the Australian Human Rights Commission. This proposition comes amidst rising tensions between the two countries, as earlier this week Australia officially declared China a foreign nation under governmental investigation.

Dr. van der Kley explained that many Australians of Chinese descent have been dealing with not only an Australian government suspicious of the Chinese, but also with the Chinese Community Party (CCP), which targets Chinese Australians by threatening their families and assets still in China. These cases of coercion are rarely reported, since Chinese Australians know that “there is little that the Australian government can do about it,” explained Dr. van der Kley. According to Dr. van der Kley, having a foreign interference commissioner in Australia would help keep track of these cases and other issues of Chinese interference in the Australian government. The commissioner would be responsible for compiling data on the issues into an annual report.  

Although the Australian government officially flagged China in the interference investigation this week, the first acknowledgement of Chinese interference was in a document signed by Stephen Donaghue, Australia’s Solicitor-General, on September 1, 2020. The Solicitor-General claimed that there was “no doubt the suspect worked to advance the interests and policy goals of the People’s Republic of China.” Since then, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation have been involved in the investigation into China’s influence on Labor politician Shaoquett Moselmane.

While the Australian police and security agency have offered no comment on the investigation, both the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney and the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson denied China’s interference in Australian politics and the targeting of Australian citizens. The Consulate called the accusations “totally baseless and nothing but vicious slander.” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin warned that the Australian government’s accusations will exacerbate tensions between the two countries, which are already high.  

However, Dr. van der Kley claimed that the CCP’s attempts to interfere in Australian politics have proven fruitless so far, citing the Australian Government’s banning of Huawei from Australia’s 5G network as proof that China does not quite have sway over the Australian government.  

What Dr. van der Kley finds most important about the issue is the protection of the individual victims of Chinese coercion, namely the harassed Chinese Australians. He says that people currently focus too much on the convictions of retaliatory legislations rather than the victims of Chinese coercions themselves.