Australia-China row: I m Australian - why do I need to prove my loyalty?
By Frances Mao
Earlier this year, a junior adviser for the Australian government, Andrew Chen , visited the nation s Department of Defence for a meeting.
As he and a colleague stepped into the building in Canberra, they pulled out their government IDs. Mr Chen was stopped by a guard, who took him aside. They asked to take a photo of me - like a portrait - there in the lobby, he said. And it was just me. The Caucasian colleague who was with me - he wasn t asked to do that, added Mr Chen, who is Chinese-Australian.
BEIJING called on the international community yesterday to denounce an Australian think tank, partly funded by the US, for spreading anti-China propaganda.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin used his daily press briefing on Thursday to comment on the smears against the Communist Party of China by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Aspi).
Mr Wang cited an article in national newspaper the Australian which quoted an Aspi report warning that China could acquire technological interventions to use for defence and intelligence services after 32 Australian academics joined China’s Thousand Talents Plan.
Investigations found no evidence of any wrongdoing. Mr Wang reminded journalists that Aspi is funded by the US State Department, the US and Australian defence departments and arms manufacturers to “fabricate various anti-China rumours.”