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Interference in New Zealand’s Affairs
All data relating to the sender of the second e-mail, whose surname, “Yuang,” appeared to be of Chinese nationality, has since disappeared or been removed from the Web.
Dr. Casey raised the question of whether the Chinese regime was behind the email.
Auckland councillor Dr. Cathy Casey called the e-mail shocking and reprehensible. (Auckland City Council)
“If this is the work of the Chinese government in New Zealand, I say again this has to stop,” said Dr. Casey. She had also received the earlier e-mail from the Chinese Consulate.
Dr. Casey is concerned about the Chinese Consulate interfering with the domestic affairs of New Zealand.
“I say to people like this, stay out of our country and stay out of dealing with our citizens. You have no right to behave in this way,” said Dr. Casey.
A former Chinese consular official has testified to his experience in conducting activities meant to interfere with Falun Gong in nearby Australia.
Chen Yonglin, the former first secretary for political affairs for China’s Sydney Consulate, testified before the U.S. Congress in 2005, “War against Falun Gong is one of the main tasks of the Chinese missions overseas.”
According to Chen, “The Falun Gong policy of the central CCP [Chinese Communist Party] for the overseas missions is, ‘To fight eyeball to eyeball, to attack voluntarily and aggressively.’” In his testimony, Chen detailed specific methods used to carry out this “fight.”
Falun Gong practitioners around the world have reported efforts by Chinese consular staff since the persecution began to interfere with their activities and damage their reputations.
Ms. Hulse says that as a society New Zealand “needs to be intolerant of anyone that engenders hatred.”
A Previous Pattern
The ploy of sending an irrational e-mail that claims to be from a Falun Gong practitioner in order to defame Falun Gong has been used several times in the past few years.
In January, Mr. Erping Zhang, the spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Information Centre, was contacted by the staff of a U.S. senator. That senator had received an e-mail in Mr. Zhang’s name that made irrational demands on the senator in the name of Falun Gong.
Mr. Zhang was able to reassure the senator’s office that he had not sent the e-mail. He then employed an I.T. expert who was able to demonstrate that the e-mail had originated from a computer in mainland China.
During the 2009–2010 Shen Yun tour, several managers of theatres that had agreed to host Shen Yun reported receiving irrational e-mails that claimed to be from Falun Gong practitioners.
The matter of the e-mail sent to the officials has been referred to the SIS (Security Intelligence Service), which is investigating.
