Chinese defector details country's espionage agenda

According to Chen Yonglin, China's highest-profile defector in decades, the main task of the Chinese Consulate here is to spy on five so-called "poisonous groups" in the Australian community. Once a fortnight, he says, officials file reports about Free Tibet supporters, Taiwan independence advocates, Uighurs who want an East Turkistan homeland, Falun Gong members, and the Chinese pro-democracy movement.

Mr. Chen said in an interview that he knows this because the officials reported to him. Chen served as the embassy's first political officer until he quit in late May. Australia rejected his initial asylum bid, but has granted him a temporary visa. He also requested political asylum from the United States, but says he has not yet received a response.

The Chen case underscores tensions here over human rights as well as differences between Australia and the US over how to deal with a rising China.

Australian politicians and media have criticized John Howard's government for showing too much deference to China when it turned down Chen's asylum request, without an interview, within 24 hours.

They also point to recent revelations that Chinese officials were allowed to privately interview other asylum seekers in Australian detention, as well as a government decision to turn down a US invitation to a forum in January to discuss China. Australia's foreign minister has denied turning down the invitation over fears of angering China.

Australia and China are in negotiations over a free-trade agreement and a multi-billion dollar gas deal.

The Howard government says it will not treat Chen differently from the other 1,000 Chinese who seek protection here every year. While Australia decides on whether to grant him a protection visa, he and his family are in hiding. He has taken his case to the international media to further his cause.

In a face-to-face interview with the Monitor, Chen said he had access to a database with hundreds of blacklisted names. He coordinated biweekly meetings to receive fresh intelligence data - sometimes new names, other times details on family members in Australia or in China. His job, which he took up in 2001, amounted to spying on Falun Gong and opposing demonstrators.

"But I realized soon what [Chinese officials] do with some of these supporters in China," he says. "I did some research and found people who had been jailed and even killed for being Falun Gong.... I began reading about the movement and saw it was peaceful. "

Chen saw he had a chance to help the Falun Gong. He stopped the biweekly meetings, and when he was asked why, said he was too busy with business delegations from Beijing.

And Chen did something more: When Beijing asked for details of the 800 people on the Falun Gong blacklist, he said they were unimportant and details were sketchy. Beijing began thinking that the list was worthless and decided to recompile it, he says. "They ended up with 120 confirmed names and details of Falun Gong [members] who are on the blacklist, and the rest are now gone."

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