By Ben Johnson

05jun05

A CHINESE diplomat on the run from his embassy has offered to hand over a list of Chinese spies to the Australian Government in exchange for asylum.

Chen Yong Lin claims China has thousands of undercover agents working in Australia.

Mr. Chen said he had been hunted by Chinese agents since he left his senior post at the Chinese consulate in Sydney a week ago.

The diplomat has already been denied political asylum by the Government, which now faces a serious challenge to Sino-Australian relations. Mr. Chen has been told to apply for a protection visa.

"They have thousands of agents in Australia," Mr. Chen said after being on the run for the past week.

"They have been searching for me and chasing me. When I rent a house in Gosford I spotted the man and I have to leave immediately. I escaped by public transport - I have to take a train.

"I believe they will closely follow me and it will be very hard to get rid of them. I think I will not be able to get rid of them because they have thousands of agents in Australia."

Mr. Chen said he would identify Chinese spies in exchange for protection for him and his young family.

"I will give anything that I know that may threaten the Australian society and the people," he said at a Martin Place rally commemorating the 16th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in which he lost friends.

Mr. Chen, 37, said he would be persecuted if he returned to China after four years in Australia. He admitted to aiding dissidents of the Chinese Communist Party and also observers of China's persecuted Falun Gong [group] during his tenure.

"In my work I have been helping in some ways the pro-democratic activists and Falun Gong people," he said.

"I am still waiting for a response from the Government for a protection visa. I hope to get a response from them immediately."

He claimed that several people had been kidnapped on Australian soil, including the son of a Chinese mayor who was shipped off aboard a cargo ship.

"Each year they have kidnapped a good number," Mr. Chen said.

The former diplomat, his wife Jin Ping, 38, and their six-year-old daughter are now in hiding.

They are being aided by an Australian citizen.

"My family is very distressed and have no choice but to support me in some way to get safety," Mr. Chen said.

Australia has granted very few applications for political asylum, most notably to the Petrov family in the 1950s.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra is one of the largest foreign missions in Australia, with 40 diplomats.

While the overall numbers of foreign spies in Australia have remained steady in recent years, ASIO has been concerned about the build-up of Chinese spies.

Sources claims it is part of a global push by Beijing in recent years to expand its intelligence presence in the west.

Source http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,15512738%255E421,00.html

Posting date: 6/7/2005
Original article date: 6/7/2005
Category: News & Media Reports

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