On June 4, Chen Yonglin, who walked out of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney on May 27, appeared at the Sydney rally to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre and to support 2 million people quitting the Chinese Communist Party. Chen said that he had left the Chinese Consulate a week ago and sought political asylum, because he detests the Chinese government’s violation of human rights, and sympathizes with the Falun Gong practitioners under persecution. He expressed fear for his life, as he is facing the risk of being sent back to China and jailed.

Chen Denied Political Asylum

Consul Chen Yonglin was in charge of Political Affairs at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney. He left the consulate on May 27 and sought political asylum in Australia.

On May 31, Mr. Chen met with an official from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT). He was told his application for political asylum had been refused, but he could apply for a refugee protection visa instead. Chen said, “DFAT informed me that the Chinese Government wanted me back but Australia didn’t.”

Chen Went Public to Gain Australian’s Support

While applying for and failing to receive political asylum, Mr. Chen discovered that agents from the Chinese Consulate were searching for him. He told the reporter that he was followed by suspicious people in Gosford, a small town of Sydney where he had been hiding temporarily. He immediately made an escape by train. He has to keep his current cell phone in order to maintain contact with his wife. At the rally, his cell phone kept ringing; sometimes he had to step aside to avoid being overheard by reporters. After several days being in hiding and feeling his life was at risk, Mr. Chen chose to speak out in public, hoping to gain support from the Australian public and media.

At the rally, Mr. Chen said that he has spent the past four years and two months as the political Counselor for the Chinese Consulate in Sydney. His main responsibility was to “carry out the Chinese government’s policy, persecute the Falun Gong practitioners in New South Wales, and to monitor their actions, including hiring people to collect information about Falun Gong practitioners’ activities.” He revealed that there were about 1,000 Chinese secret agents in Australia at the moment and they had committed acts of kidnapping on Australian soil. He has evidence to prove several kidnapping cases in which the kidnap victims have been sent back to China.

Chen is frightened for his life. He gave an example of a Chinese citizen who failed to obtain protection from Australia and was sentenced to death after being forcefully taken back to China in early 2000. He is worried that he may be kidnapped by Chinese agents. He even saw suspicious faces at the rally. He said that he would face persecution if he went back to Beijing.

Seeking Legal Assistance

Mr. Chen exposed the Chinese government’s espionage in Australia and expressed willingness to assist the Australian government with its investigation in exchange for protection. He followed sympathizers’ suggestions and is now seeking legal assistance to obtain a refugee protection visa. It is said that one MP is preparing a resolution regarding Chen Yonglin’s case and now the DFAT must face this tough case and give the public a reasonable explanation.

Political Reponses

The Australian government confirmed Chen’s application for political protection.

The Federal Opposition Labor Party pointed out that Australia’s trade relationship with China should not be a barrier to the granting of a protection visa to Chen. The Federal Opposition’s immigration spokesman Laurie Ferguson said China would be unhappy about Chen’s claims of the Chinese government’s spying and kidnapping in Australia, but he did not think Chen’s case would affect Australian trade negotiations.

Green Party Senator Bob Brown said that the federal government must offer protection to Mr. Chen and should give special care for his application. “Giving him ordinary processing here is simply inadequate,” Brown said, “This is a diplomat who has spoken up in Australia and is alleging crimes against Australia. He must be given special assistance, special protection and special treatment.”

A spokeswoman from DFAT said that visa applications are the Ministry of Immigration’s responsibility. Immigration Minister Senator Amanda Vanstone said that all such applications are dealt with as individual cases. The procedure is not based on regions or countries. Mr. Chen’s application will be handled with normal procedure; it would be irresponsible to give special treatment to Mr. Chen’s case. When asked whether granting Mr. Chen protection would embarrass the Australian government, Vanstone refused to make any additional comments on this matter. "This will be handled in the normal way," she said.