Posted on 07/06/2005 9:19:56 PM PDT by Wiz
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - A former Canadian spymaster has backed claims by a Chinese defector that China maintains an extensive spy network in Australia.
The former chief of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service's Asia-Pacific Bureau, Michel Juneau-Katsuya, backed the claims of Chen Yonglin, a former employee of the Chinese consulate in Sydney, Australia, in an interview with Australian television late Wednesday.
Chen, 37, abandoned his middle-ranking diplomatic post at China's consulate in May and asked for asylum, saying he would be persecuted if he returned home because of his sympathy for the Falun Gong movement, which China brands an evil cult.
Chen claimed to have information that China maintains a 1,000-member spy network in Australia, including a local branch of a security organization known as 6-10, set up specifically to wipe out Falun Gong.
The case has sparked a flurry of similar espionage claims from Chinese asylum-seekers and created diplomatic tension for Australia as it tries to negotiate a free-trade deal with Beijing.
Australian officials have refused to comment on the espionage claims, which China categorically denies.
Juneau-Katsuya, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. television's Lateline program China's intelligence operations in western countries are extensive and aggressive.
Juneau-Katsuya said the Chinese government uses a broad approach to intelligence-gathering, relying on thousands of its nationals living overseas to report information back to Beijing.
"We're talking about a student going abroad to study in a very specific field, postgraduate, research academics...and of course industry people, business people who will be willingly sharing information and assisting them," said Juneau-Katsuya, who is now chief executive of a private security-intelligence company.
He said Canadian security officials were aware of the existence of 6-10 and would have shared that information with Australia.
"It should have been their knowledge because...this is information that we share with one another," he told the program.
Chen, whose initial application for political asylum was rejected, is now being considered for a temporary asylum visa normally granted to boat people fleeing persecution. He has said he fears for his life if he is forced to return to China.
China is Australia's third-largest trading partner and Australia is about to begin delivering liquid natural gas to China's Guangdong province next year as part of a long-term, mutibillion-dollar supply contract - the country's largest export deal.
ping!
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