Australian Foreign Minister On Chinese Women's Arrest: Foreign Interference Is Not Tolerated

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong/PHOTO via Instagram @senatorpennywong

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Penny Wong stressed Australia will not tolerate surveillance of its community by foreign governments, after a Chinese woman was charged with foreign interference and denied her bail by the court.

The woman, who has not yet filed a defense, was present in court in the Australian capital Canberra on Monday after police charged her with "reckless foreign hand mixing" for allegedly monitoring the city's Buddhist group on behalf of China's security agency.

The court found out the woman's husband was a deputy captain at the public security ministry in the province in China.

The Chinese woman visited the Chinese consulate in Canberra a few days after her property was raided by police, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.

In a series of television interviews on Tuesday, August 5, Wong said he could not comment on individual cases, but insisted Australia took a stance against foreign interference.

"We do not tolerate harassment, intimidation, surveillance of Australians, and we have a strong framework to prevent foreign interference in our democracy," he said in an ABC radio interview.

This is the third time the indictment has been filed under a foreign interference law introduced in Australia in 2018, and the first time a Chinese citizen has been charged under the law.

A spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ministry was "not aware of the specific details of this case" but would continue to monitor developments and "maintain the legitimate rights and interests of its citizens."

"Childs have never interfered in the domestic affairs of other countries, and firmly oppose any attempt to interfere with the normal exchange and cooperation between China and countries under the pretext of 'foreign interference'," the spokesman continued.

The court's detention order has banned the media from reporting the woman's name.

Perempuan yang juga merupakan penduduk tetap Australia, menghadapi hukuman penjara maksimal 15 tahun jika terbukti bersalah, menurut Kepolisian Federal Australia.

Police suspect the woman was assigned by China's Public Security Bureau to secretly gather information about the Guan Yin Citta branch in Canberra, a Buddhist group.