The Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne officially signed a letter of intent with the Australian Emergency Mutual Aid Association in 2017, appointing the Association as the Consulate General’s “Consular Protection Assistance Agency”. (ABC)
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) cited court documents stating that ASIO believes Liu Huifeng is suspected of interfering in Australian affairs on behalf of foreign powers, specifically citing his service to the Chinese Communist authorities. The official Chinese Communist Party media Global Times blamed Liu Huifeng’s reporting on disputes within the local Chinese community, saying that ASIO and the ABC were persecuting Chinese people by antiChinese forces by speculating on Liu Huifeng’s case.
The ASIO accused Liu Huifeng of being a Chinese spy suspected of “engaging in interference by foreign forces” because, among other things, he founded an organization called the Australian Emergency Assistance Association Incorporated (AEAAI), which is considered by the Australian authorities to be an “official service of the Chinese Communist authorities.
The Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne appointed AEAAI in 2017 as the Consulate General’s “consular protection assistance agency” and pledged to fund AEAAI, which agreed to accept the Consulate’s instructions to report to the Consulate on “security risks” involving Chinese nationals that require the Consulate’s intervention. security risks” that require consular intervention. The consulate also asked the association to set up a third-party organization to receive funds from the Chinese Communist Party.
Liu Huifeng is also a donor to Australia’s ruling Liberal Party and has ties to Gladys Liu, a member of parliament with earlier alleged ties to the Chinese Communist authorities, and Michael Sukkar, an assistant minister in the Treasury Department. Liao had publicly helped the association with its propaganda, while Sukkar was accused of inviting Liu Fenghui to dine with him in Parliament on budget night in 2017. Liu Huifeng has also been photographed with a number of Australian politicians and claimed to have close ties with them.
The ASIO found that Liu had lied in cross-examination and had not truthfully described his work for and relationships with Chinese Communist Party officials.
The ABC report mainly cited court documents and synthesized previous reports, but also mentioned Liu Huifeng’s defense and AEAAI’s clarification that he did not receive official funding from the Chinese Communist Party. However, the Global Times criticized the report as speculation and a “malicious distortion” of the cooperation between the CCP Consulate General in Melbourne and AEAAI.
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