A fugitive Chinese diplomat has accused Australian officials of tipping off his bosses immediately after he requested political asylum, despite claims he would be in grave danger if forced to return home.
Chen Yonglin told The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that Australian authorities refused his asylum request, submitted 11 days ago, within 24 hours and without even interviewing.
They also repeatedly urged him to return to the Chinese consulate in Sydney.
Chen, 37, had been in hiding with his wife and six-year-old daughter until Saturday, when he appeared at a rally in Syndey and alleged that China operated more than 1,000 spies in Australia and had been involved in kidnapping dissidents and forcing them to return home.
Chen served as first secretary at the consulate and said his work included monitoring Chinese dissident groups, including the Falun Gong meditation movement, democracy advocates and Tibet separatists.
His defection attempt, and China’s expected demand that he be returned, has come at a delicate time for Australia, which is actively trying to deepen economic and political relations with China.
The two countries launched negotiations on a multi-billion-dollar free trade agreement just last month and Australia is seeking lucrative new contracts to sell natural gas to China.
Opposition politicians and trade unionists accused the government of putting trade ties ahead of human rights by refusing to consider asylum for Chen, the highest profile defector in Australia since Soviet KGB agent Vladimir Petrov defected in 1954.
Chen said he was astonished at the way Australian immigration authorities rebuffed his asylum bid and even telephoned his superiors at the consulate about his attempted defection.
“I didn’t think it would happen like this,” Chen told the Herald.
“Australia is a democratic country. I thought they would help me. My family is desperate. We are helpless. We need to be in a safe place,” he said.
China’s consulate issued a statement on Sunday saying Chen had reached the end of his four-year stint in Australia and was making up stories because he did not want to return to China.
“To achieve the aim of staying in Australia, Chen Yonglin fabricated stories, which are unfounded and purely fictitious,” it said.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has refused to be drawn into the issue, saying action on Chen’s asylum request was up to the immigration department.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said the diplomat’s asylum application would not receive special treatment and she refused to comment on reports that officials in her department told Chen his actions would “cause serious consequences” for Australian-Chinese ties.
Chen was reportedly meeting with lawyers Monday about how to pursue his asylum claim.
