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Chen Yonglin is a former Chinese diplomat who sparked fears of a diplomatic incident through his defection to Australia in the summer of 2005.

Chen had been a university student in Beijing during the pro-democracy movement that ultimately led to the Tiananmen Square protests, in which several of his friends were wounded. He underwent "re-education" after the subsequent crackdown on dissidents, and joined the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991. This culminated in his posting as the consul for political affairs in the Chinese consulate in Sydney, Australia. In this position, Chen has stated that he was responsible for monitoring Chinese political dissidents living in Australia. He also reportedly had access to highly classified information on Chinese intelligence activities in Australia. Chen has claimed that he had "gone easy" on dissidents and members of Falun Gong and had not reported some actions in protest at China's policies towards political dissent. He has also suggested that the Chinese government was becoming suspicious of his activities, and that as a result, he fears for his safety if returned to China.

Chen's father was tortured and killed during the cultural revolution.

"So they kidnap him on his way back home from the town and jailed him and beat him and torture him and two weeks later he died of torturing. There has been a deep shadow in, in my heart and I have been thinking of this for a very long time."

Defection and allegations

In late May 2005 (there have been conflicting reports as to the exact day), Chen walked out of the consulate and went into hiding with his wife and six-year old daughter. He reportedly met an officer from the Department of Immigration on May 26, and then a representative from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on May 31. Chen has stated that he was told at the latter meeting that his request for political asylum had been rejected, but that he could apply for a protection visa. The story broke to the international media on June 3, when Chen contacted The Weekend Australian newspaper, sparking fears of a serious diplomatic incident between the two nations.

On June 4, though he allegedly feared being kidnapped, Chen come out of hiding in order to address a rally commemorating the 16th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. During his speech, he claimed that he would "reveal everything he knows" if he was allowed to remain in Australia. He also claimed that the Chinese government had more than a thousand agents in Australia, and that they were responsible for kidnapping Chinese dissidents and returning them to China. Furthermore, Chen claimed that in one particular case in early 2000, Chinese agents in Sydney had kidnapped a student, Lan Meng, to force his dissident father to return to China. The father, Lan Fu, did return in 2000 to face prosecution and a death sentence, but the charges stemmed from a US$6 billion smuggling racket in Xiamen, where Lan Fu had been deputy mayor, rather than from any dissident activity. Lan's lawyer, Zhu Yongping denied that kidnapping played a part in his client's voluntary return, insisting his client had given himself up voluntarily. On June 10 Chen appeared to retract that accusation, commenting only that "I said that in fear, and I don't want to talk about it again." On June 22, however, Chen provided further details about the alleged kidnapping, naming Zhang Jin, Deputy Director of the Third Department of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, as the official responsible for the abduction. The Weekend Australian has found that Lan Meng, then 18, was living in the Melbourne suburb of Sandringham from November 1999 until November 2000, for at least three months before Lan Fu returned to China, casting further doubt on the story that Lan Meng was kidnapped and taken to China, leading up to Lan Fu's return. It is believed that Lan Meng and Lan Fu's wife, Lai Chongxin are still in Australia, and Lan's wife was also reported to be on China's wanted list in connection with the Xiamen scandal.

After the June 4th rally, Chen once again went into hiding, having claimed that he was under constant surveillance and in fear of his life. The future of his claim for a protection visa remains unclear, as it places Australia in a difficult situation regarding its trade relationship with China - which in turn has its own concerns about its human rights reputation in the leadup to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. While the government has so far been reluctant to comment on the issue, saying only that he will receive no special treatment Shadow Minister for Immigration Laurie Ferguson and prominent trade unionist Bill Shorten have both been particularly vocal in their defence of Chen, demanding that the government put trade concerns aside and review his case, comparing it to the Petrov Affair during the Cold War. On June 5, the Chinese embassy released a statement concerning its version of events, claiming that Chen was due to return home and had made up the claims in the hope that he would be allowed to stay, and attempting to alleviate fears that Chen would be harmed if he returned to China. On June 7 Chen's claims were supported by Hao Fengjun, a former police officer with the 610 Bureau, a special security force established to eradicate Falun Gong by whatever means they deem necessary. The Chinese government responded by claiming that documents seized from Hao's home in China had shown that he was a low-level policeman suspected of corruption. Hao's lawyer, Bernard Collaery, attacked the claims, however, claiming that they were "standard (Chinese) tactics."

Support, opposition, and ultimate success

On July 7, a Chinese defector in Canada using the name Han Guangsheng emerged to support Chen and Hao's spying allegations. During his interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation show Lateline, Han explained "I do know that the Chinese Communist Party sent people to collect intelligence information, including Chinese Embassy and Consulate staff. Some of the reporters coming from state Chinese media and visiting scholars are also given special spying tasks to carry out." The fifty-two-year-old defector has been denied political asylum by the Canadian government due to suspicion on prior human rights abuses. This appears consistent with Han's claim that he was in charge of Shenyang's public security and labor camps before his defection.

On that same day China's ambassador, Fu Ying, condemned Chen for "attacking his motherland" with "allegations and noise" for the sole purpose of living in a wealthier country. She warned that many more would follow Chen, if he was allowed to relocate to Australia, and she lamented the "underlying prejudice" revealed by those who supported Chen.

On July 8, 2005, Chen Yonglin, his wife, and his 6-year-old daughter were granted permanent protection visas by the Immigration Department, over the opposition of the Chinese government.

Post-visa testimony

Following the granting of protection visas to Chen and his family, he has met with Australian intelligence officials to discuss his earlier claims of a 1000-strong Chinese spy network. On July 21 Chen testified before the Congressional Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations as part of a panel discussing "Falun Gong and China’s Continuing War on Human Rights." Here Chen broadened his earlier charges, stating: "I know that there are over 1,000 Chinese secret agents and informants in Australia and the number in the United States should not be less." He also testified that "Chinese diplomats there were required to denounce the group, distribute anti-sect brochures and pressure businesses, schools and media to shun Falun Gong."

External Links

• 'Secret documents exchanged' for asylum, Sydney Morning Herald, June 8, 2005
• Chen participating at refugee rally
• Hao Fengjun's claims
• Chinese claims of Hao's corruption

• Defectors
• Chinese people