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Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s department has declared it will not tolerate foreign interference and backed the spy agency ASIO after China’s top diplomat issued a combative denial that Beijing attempts to meddle in overseas affairs.
Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian used an opinion piece submitted to this masthead this week to accuse ASIO and other western spy agencies of concocting espionage claims against China to smear the rising superpower.
“China itself has long suffered from foreign interference and has no intention of, nor has it ever engaged in, so-called interference in Australia,” Xiao wrote.
“Viewing China-Australia relations through the lens of a Cold War mentality and using national security as a pretext to portray China as a hypothetical enemy is targeting the wrong party, harming the friendship, and running counter to the interests of the Australian nation and its people.”
He also accused ASIO and the other Five Eyes agencies of “slandering” China and “concocting a sensational charge against another nation out of thin air” by warning that China’s military intelligence services using professional networking sites to secure secret and sensitive information.
In response to questions about the ambassador’s opinion piece, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said: “The Chinese ambassador speaks for the government of China and represents its positions.
“The Australian government takes foreign interference seriously and fully supports our security agencies and the work they do to keep Australians safe.”
The spokesperson continued: “We will always speak up on issues that matter to Australians, including human rights.
“We have no tolerance for any country attempting foreign interference in Australia and have a strong framework to deter and respond to it.”
The department did not directly respond to a call by Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Justin Bassi for Xiao to be summoned for a rebuke over the piece.
“The ambassador is trying to undermine confidence in ASIO and turn Australians against the people whose job it is to keep them safe,” Bassi said.
“That is not a legitimate use of Australia’s freedom of speech and the ambassador should be called in by DFAT or the government.”
ASIO responded to the ambassador’s claims by pointing out that a Melbourne man had recently been convicted for attempting to interfere in Australia’s political system to advance the interests of the Chinese Communist Party, as had a Sydney man who gave Chinese spies information on Australia’s economic, defence and political priorities.
There has been significant discussion within the national security community about why Xiao reacted so strongly to a video aired at ASIO headquarters last week, where he was sitting in the second row.
Allegations of Chinese interference were only briefly mentioned in the video and ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess did not mention China by name in his annual threat assessment.
The publication of the opinion piece came as a new ethnicity law went into effect in China on Wednesday that human rights groups fear will endanger ethnic minority groups overseas in countries such as Australia.
The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law says China has the right to pursue legal action against overseas individuals and organisations that undermine its ethnic unity, prompting accusations it could encourage foreign interference and the stifling of dissent.
Uyghur and Tibetan groups in Australia have said they fear China will use the law to target their communities.
DFAT said the government had raised concerns about the law “directly with China and at the UN Human Rights Council”.
“The Australian government is concerned about the human rights implications of China’s Ethnic Unity Law, including its potential to curtail the rights and freedoms of individuals beyond China’s borders,” a spokesperson said earlier this week.
“All people in Australia, regardless of citizenship, are protected by Australian law and enjoy Australian political freedoms.”
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