‘Close watch’: Bizarre reason for alleged Chinese spying on Aussie Buddhist group
It all seems very innocent - a Buddhist charity that serves free vegetarian food. But now it’s at the centre of a huge Chinese scandal.
It all seems very innocent - a Buddhist charity that serves free vegetarian food from a commercial building in Canberra, right next-door to a security firm called “Five Eyes Consulting.”
So why would China want to dispatch a spy to infiltrate their ranks?
A Chinese citizen was charged on Monday with covertly gathering information about the group on behalf of the Chinese government. It’s the first time the AFP has charged a person with interfering with the general population under Australia’s recent foreign interference laws.
The allegations of spying remain untested, and the case remains before the courts.
The alleged victim group in question is called Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, a branch of Buddhism founded by a late Chinese Australian named Lu Junhong.
Guan Yin Citta’s centres are sprinkled across Australia, as well as the UK, the US and Southeast Asia - it claims to have more than five million adherents worldwide.
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Anne-Marie Brady, a Mandarin-speaking professor at the University of Canterbury who specialises in Chinese domestic and foreign policy, said China was known for “infiltrating” overseas religious organisations.
“The CCP is a Marxist-Leninist political party that promotes atheism in Chinese society and suppresses genuine religious organisation in China, as it regards it as a potential source of political and societal opposition,” Ms Brady told news.com.au.
“Meanwhile it runs ‘patriotic’ religious organisations (Patriotic Buddhist, Patriotic Catholic, Patriotic Protestant, Patriotic Islam, Patriotic Daoist) under the control of the CCP United Front Work Department to manage sanctioned religious activity in China.”
The professor said Chinese people who join a religion that isn’t state-sanctioned can face persecution even when they leave the People’s Republic.
“The CCP also infiltrates overseas Chinese diaspora religious organisations.
“The CCP keeps a close watch on any new religious organisations in China and within the overseas Chinese diaspora and has a longstanding practice of infiltrating and disrupting them.”
In 2017, the CCP-owned newspaper The Beijing News made claims that the Australia-based group was infiltrating China and labelled it an illegal “xie jiao,” or “evil cult,” the same designation the CCP has given to Falun Gong and other religious movements.
According to charity records, the group is a registered charity in Australia and had a total income of more than $6 million last year, much of that from donations.
Photos of the Canberra temple where the spying is alleged to have taken place show it is adorned with portraits of founder Lu Junhong.
Mr Junhong moved to Australia from China in 1989 and became an Aussie citizen before founding Guan Yin Citta and broadcasting his message from a Sydney radio station. He died in 2021.
The group falls outside the Buddhist mainstream, with a focus on past lives and reciting sutras and mantras.
It has copped criticism for claiming Mr Lu was a reincarnation of Guan Yin, a Buddhist figure associated with compassion.
At the Sydney branch, dozens of people were seen worshipping on Wednesday morning, but in response to questions, they told this reporter, “Sorry,” and closed the temple doors.
The alleged spy, an Australian permanent resident, was arrested at her Canberra home last Saturday and cannot be named for legal reasons.
She was remanded in custody and faces a maximum 15 years in prison if found guilty.
Originally published as ‘Close watch’: Bizarre reason for alleged Chinese spying on Aussie Buddhist group
