In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on September 13, Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said, “If someone is masquerading as a journalist or a business leader or any other person and there is evidence that they are contravening Australian law to the contrary, then the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Commonwealth of Australia (CFA) should be able to provide the information that they need to do that,” he said. The police and other relevant authorities will then take action.”
The emergency evacuation on Monday came after two ABC and Australian Financial Review journalists in China, Bill Birtles, based in Beijing, and Michael Smith, based in Shanghai, returned home. They were visited by Chinese National Security during the night last Wednesday and were asked to appear for questioning in a “national security case”. They then went to the Australian Embassy in Beijing and the Consulate-General in Shanghai to seek consular assistance and were eventually allowed to leave the country and return to Australia after being interviewed by Chinese and Australian officials.
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian confirmed on Wednesday that Australian security intelligence agencies had raided the residences of four journalists from the Xinhua News Agency, China Central Radio and Television Corporation and China News Service in Australia in late June, and seized computers and cell phones. China accused the Australian side of “grossly violating” the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese journalists. In an interview on Sunday, Dutton declined to confirm that Chinese journalists working in Australia had been questioned by Australian intelligence in June this year, in the context of the series of incidents between Australia and China. He insisted that the investigation was ongoing, but referred to some activity by Australian intelligence agencies.
Dutton said, “If Australian security intelligence organizations have sufficient grounds to execute a search warrant or conduct other activities, then they will conduct that activity.” He added that relevant agencies, such as the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, put a lot of effort into ensuring that foreign interference, wherever it occurs in Australia, is dealt with. He added, “If someone is disguised as a journalist or a business leader or any other identity, and there is evidence that they are violating Australian law in the opposite direction, then the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police and other relevant authorities will take action.”
During the interview, the host also mentioned that the U.S. government has adopted quotas on the number of Chinese journalists based in the U.S. and requires them to reapply for work visas every three months, “What do you think about Chinese journalists working in Australia and should they be subject to stricter rules (restrictions) than their counterparts?” To this, Dutton replied, “We will watch what the U.S. is doing, but we should follow our own systems and norms.” He said, “Beyond that, we’re not going to be influenced (from the outside), and if people are working for us as journalists and they’re reporting the news fairly, that’s fine, but if they’re working for us to provide a biased viewpoint to a particular community, then we need to consider whether they’re trying to interfere or spy. That’s unacceptable to us.”
Dutton said, “We don’t mind those who come to our country and scrutinize things as carefully and thoroughly as your colleagues do. We want to follow the rule of law and do the same. We want others to do the same. But we also don’t ignore those who break the law, who interfere with our democracy and our system of government, who steal intellectual property. We will not let that happen,” he stressed, “and the prime minister has been very clear about that.
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