CCP ‘Currying Favour’ With NZ Police Officers: Former Spy Minister

New Zealand flags fly in front of The Beehive during the Commission Opening of Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand, on Oct. 20, 2014. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

The group of 33 New Zealand police staff who visited China in October say the trip was intended to increase their cultural competency.

However, a former Minister in charge of New Zealand’s intelligence agencies warns the visit has all the hallmarks of a “classic effort” by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to “curry favour” with New Zealand authorities.

The trip came to public attention after a traveller, unaffiliated with the police, revealed details of the trip on social media.

Chinese dissidents in New Zealand identified Auckland police Ethnic Responsiveness Manager Jessica Phuang and Ethnic Liaison Officer Constable Kevin Liang Deng as among those pictured, describing the event as a “mega United Front event.”

The United Front Work Department is a Chinese Communist Party agency responsible for orchestrating foreign influence operations.

The acting director for partnerships in the Auckland region, Matt Tierney, said the trip was self-funded, with participating staff deciding independently to attend and cover their costs.

Tierney said it was arranged by Phuang, who is a “highly regarded leader in Tāmaki Makaurau [Auckland],” and that “those who attended reported an incredibly positive and beneficial experience.”

Police Assistant Commissioner Sam Hoyle said all “appropriate notifications and processes were carried out prior to departure” and confirmed that no police-issued devices were taken overseas.

Hoyle also denied any provincial government hosted the group.

‘Ought to be a Worry’: Ex-Spy Agency Minister

Andrew Little, the former Minister in charge of the NZ Security Intelligence Service (NZ SIS) and Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), said the trip should have raised alarm bells among senior officers.

“When you have a group of people, in this case serving police officers, travelling to China admittedly at their own expense but apparently being hosted at the expense of others once they’re in the country, then that looks like a classic influence-building programme,” he said.

“This looks like a classic effort on the part of the Chinese government or Chinese authorities to build loyalty amongst serving police officers in New Zealand, and that ought to be a worry.”

He described the visit as part of Beijing’s “very sophisticated programme” to build relationships and exert influence over individuals with knowledge of New Zealand’s political and institutional decision-making.

“There’s always these efforts to build relationships and ultimately influence. It could be councillors or local government officials; it could be politicians of any rank or type, backbenchers as well as ministers,” he said.

“When you’ve got serving police officers on a trip like this, where apparently they were hosted by certain provincial governments and possibly the central government of China and the Chinese Communist Party, that’s a matter that ought to be disclosed or should have been disclosed before the trip took place.”

He added that the New Zealand Police Force prides itself on being almost entirely free of corruption.

“There’s the isolated example here and there, but we do that because things are transparent and we have a police hierarchy that looks out for these things,” he said.

He urged senior officers to examine disclosures made by the travellers, particularly the level of hospitality provided by provincial governments or Beijing.

Evidence of CCP Connections Emerges

Despite police assertions that the trip was unofficial and its officers were merely tourists, photos published on social media show Phuang meeting Tang Changhua, Deputy Director of the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

The department is reportedly involved in United Front work, and the caption says Tang hosted a dinner for the police delegation.

The trip was reportedly organised by Auckland-based China Travel Service, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Travel Service Hong Kong, which some dissidents say is the CCP’s official tourism agency.

During the Hong Kong protests of 2019 to 2020, it was alleged that China Travel Service leaked protestors’ personal information to HKLeaks, a doxxing website that targeted supporters of the protest movement.

National Security Implications

News of the police trip comes as New Zealand introduces new laws aimed at curbing foreign interference, creating offences for covert, deceptive, corruptive, or coercive activities on behalf of foreign powers.

In its latest threat assessment, the NZ Security Intelligence Service said foreign interference threatens communities, academia, the media, businesses, and the government.

It specifically cited Beijing, which it said “carries out foreign interference activities against New Zealand’s diverse Chinese communities.”