Big Brother knows no borders. That was the message Mr. Chen Yonglin brought this week on his first visit to Canada following his high-profile defection from the Chinese consulate in Sydney, Australia two years ago.
The purpose, Chen says, is to discredit and intimidate five target groups: Tibetan exiles, Taiwanese, Uighur Muslims, democracy activists, and most of all Falun Gong practitioners.
Chen served as the first secretary of the consulate in Sydney and headed up the consulate’s political department, which was responsible for taking the lead to combat the five groups.
He defected in May 2005 saying his conscience forbade him from doing the work, which he says included spying on Australians in the five groups and interfering in their activities.
Now he’s warning western governments to pay heed.
Media Control
As head of the political department, Chen was also a member of the Special Anti-Falun Gong Working Group, which included the head of each department at the Sydney consulate and the Consul General, Chen said. He said the same group exists in Chinese missions around the world.Among them is an entry about a Chinese-language newspaper that was reprimanded for publishing a Falun Gong advertisement.
Also, Chen said he knew from his work at the Sydney consulate that another, paper, the Australian Chinese Times, was paid to print content from a number of newspapers in mainland China, where content is vetted by state censors and generally toes the party line.
The newspaper’s publisher appears to have confirmed such a deal.
He added that his paper had been printing content provided by at least four newspapers from mainland China, which he described as “borrowing a boat to go overseas.”
New Tang Dynasty Television, which reports regularly about the persecution of Falun Gong in China ran up against this policy when it tried to place an ad for its international classical dance competition being held later this month.
Chen described several methods that the Chinese regime uses to control the overseas media. One is to have media publish content from Mainland Chinese media. Another is to directly invest or set up fully controlled media.
Chen offered as an example the nine state-owned television channels from mainland China that were recently approved by the CRTC to broadcast in Canada.
“This is an infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party’s ideology; the purpose is to legitimize its human rights violations,” said Chen.
Influence in the West
According to Chen, the Chinese missions have their voice heard in Western countries via Chinese community and student organizations that serve as fronts from the regime.“Many of these organizations have the same or similar names in Australia, Europe, or elsewhere,” says Chen, offering as an example the “National Congress.”
In Canada, there is a “National Congress of Chinese-Canadians” with known close ties to the consulate.
Chen says Chinese missions often play the leading role in setting up Chinese professionals groups and Chinese student groups in an effort to use them to influence the mainstream.
“[In Sydney,] Chinese student association’s core meetings are usually held inside the Consulate. The heads of the student organizations are usually hand picked by the Chinese consulate. The consulate even develops new party members through student associations,” added Chen.
Another set of minutes from the Special Falun Gong Working Group, dated Feb. 23, 2001 lists plans to “mobilize Chinese, Chinese companies, Chinese students to write to the provincial government, police and foreign affairs and trade ministry’s local office, to say the Falun Gong protest in front of the Chinese Consulate obstructs them from coming to do things at the consulate.”
Repressing Dissidents Top Priority
According to Chen, the effort spent by Chinese missions monitoring and repressing dissidents outweighs their other functions combined.“The Chinese communist party is very instable. Their first priority is political stability. It dominates the foreign agenda,” says Chen.
Of the dissident groups, Falun Gong has been targeted most severely. In fact, Chen says, the anti-Falun Gong efforts consume over half of the Chinese mission’s work.
“Opposing Falun Gong is the top priority of the Chinese embassy and consulates,” Chen says.
“The Chinese Communist Party has always relied on violence, lies, and advocating atheism to maintain its power. They could not understand Falun Gong practitioners’ peaceful efforts to protect their freedom of belief.
“Now they feel they can’t let people know about what has been done to Falun Gong in China.”
Item 1–The Sydney Consulate General Liao Zhihong visited or had meals with the state’s (New South Wales) Premier, Deputy Premier, State Parliament’s head and 3 mayors in order to “seek opportunities” to do work related to “Falun Gong”.
Other items include sending “exposing and criticizing Falun Gong” materials to the State Member of Parliament Kevin Moss, and Strathfield mayor Virginia Judge on Feb 10.
Item 7–Feb 20-21–University classes begin. Consulate’s education department sent staff to monitor, found several Falun Gong members set up a booth at the opening ceremony. The item states: “Has notified Chinese students to go gather information about the related ‘Falun Gong’ people”
Item 8–Set up an anti-Falun Gong display inside the consulate compound.
Item 9–Met with a Christian Chinese, Yao Lina, who wrote an “expose and criticize” Falun Gong article from a Christian angle. [The consulate] will try to get two Chinese newspapers to publish it.
Item 10–Met Chinese person Lu Yunfang, provided [anti-Falun Gong] related tapes and materials to her. She expressed that she will write more anti-Falun Gong articles, and will tell more friends and neighbors about the ‘evil nature’ of Falun Gong. The item noted that Lu had used the pen name Lu Ye (Green Leaves) to write anti-Falun Gong articles.
Item 1–On Feb. 24, Falun Gong will have about 50-60 people to do a Falun Dafa dDay activity, display banners, etc.
Item 2–Mobilize Chinese to write the New South Wales government, Parliament and police to (1) persuade and stop the Australian government from signing the United Nations human rights motion about China, (2) prevent the Australian government and MPs from nominating Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi for the Nobel Peace Prize, (3) oppose Falun Gong’s protest in front of the Chinese Consulate.
Item 4–Make appointments with the MPs on whom more work needs to be done.
Item 5–Set up a meeting with the Chinese students representatives to pass on the (Chinese government’s) message (regarding Falun Gong) and do well on the anti-Falun Gong work.
Item 7–Notify reporter(s) to interview veteran Chinese Yao Lina, to get her to expose and criticize Falun Gong from a Christian point of view.
Item 8–Well known Canadian Chinese Thomas Leung will give a talk in Sydney. Leung will be welcomed by a Sydney Christian organization. Leung has negative view on Falun Gong. The suggestion is to invite this person to the consulate and use this to “work” the local Christian organization, and see if they could do some anti-Falun Gong work.
Item 9–Mobilize Chinese, Chinese companies, Chinese students to write to the state government, the police and the local office of Foreign affairs and Trade ministry to say the Falun Gong protest in front of the Chinese Consulate obstructs them from coming in to do their work at the consulate.
Item 11–Get detailed materials on a group of Falun Gong people.
Item 12–Repeatedly play anti-Falun Gong tapes in the visa application room.
Item 13–Set up a garbage can to let people who come to get their visa to throw the materials they receive from Falun Gong in the garbage can.