The asylum application of a former Chinese diplomat who claims to be part of a 1,000-member spy network in Australia is being treated "as a matter of priority," Australia's immigration minister said yesterday.
Chen Yonglin (陳用林), 37, left his post as a consul for political affairs at China's consulate in Sydney last month and approached immigration officials seeking political asylum in Australia.
His initial application was rejected and he is now in hiding with his wife and daughter as the government considers an alternate request for a temporary visa normally reserved for refugees fleeing persecution.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said Chen's temporary visa application was lodged on June 3 and was being processed "in a normal manner, but as a priority."
"Far from dithering over Mr. Chen's protection visa application, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs is processing the application as a matter of priority," Vanstone said in a statement.
spy network
Chen's case made headlines earlier this month when he emerged from hiding to tell a pro-democracy rally in Sydney that he had been a member of a 1,000-member spy network tasked with monitoring Chinese dissident groups in Australia, including Falun Gong members and Taiwanese independence activists.
In a statement read before a Sydney rally attended by about 100 people yesterday, Chen encouraged his fellow citizens to "free themselves [from] the spirit bondage and the party chains" of Chinese communism.
"Now it's the time to smash and break the chains holding your body and soul, and embrace a life of freedom as I did walking out of shadows into a new life, no matter how difficult it is," Chen reportedly said in the statement read by Sonya Bryskine, international editor of the Epoch Times, an English-language newspaper supported by the Falun Gong spiritual movement.
`shake off fear'
"Democracy and human rights are what we Chinese need urgently," the statement said. "Let us be brave and join hands together to shake off all the fear, terror and grief laid upon us by the ruling communist regime in China."
Chen has repeatedly told the media he fears for his safety if he is forced to return to Australia.
He told the Nine television network's 60 Minutes program on Sunday that he could face up to 10 years in prison or the death penalty for disclosing government secrets.
"Serious punishment will be waiting for me," he said on the program.
China's ambassador to Australia, Fu Ying (傅瑩), has denied Chen's spy claims and said he would be not be harmed if he returned to Beijing.
The case comes at a sensitive time for Australia-China relations, but both governments have said Chen's asylum bid will not affect their economic or political relationship.
China is Australia's third largest trading partner, with trade worth about A$29 billion (US$22 billion) a year.
The two countries have just begun negotiations over a multibillion-dollar free-trade deal, and Australia is also set to begin delivering liquid natural gas to Guangdong Province next year as part of a long-term A$25 billion supply contract -- Canberra's largest export deal.
When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination. Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province late last month. When reviewing the photographs, he saw something he had not noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge. “It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo said.
TURNAROUND: The Liberal Party had trailed the Conservatives by a wide margin, but that was before Trump threatened to make Canada the US’ 51st state Canada’s ruling Liberals, who a few weeks ago looked certain to lose an election this year, are mounting a major comeback amid the threat of US tariffs and are tied with their rival Conservatives, according to three new polls. An Ipsos survey released late on Tuesday showed that the left-leaning Liberals have 38 percent public support and the official opposition center-right Conservatives have 36 percent. The Liberals have overturned a 26-point deficit in six weeks, and run advertisements comparing the Conservative leader to Trump. The Conservative strategy had long been to attack unpopular Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but last month he
Chinese authorities said they began live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin on Monday, only days after Vietnam announced a new line marking what it considers its territory in the body of water between the nations. The Chinese Maritime Safety Administration said the exercises would be focused on the Beibu Gulf area, closer to the Chinese side of the Gulf of Tonkin, and would run until tomorrow evening. It gave no further details, but the drills follow an announcement last week by Vietnam establishing a baseline used to calculate the width of its territorial waters in the Gulf of Tonkin. State-run Vietnam News
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
RSS