IAN HALL |

Stories of attempts by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to influence Australia’s political processes, gather intelligence, or simply intrude into government and commercial IT networks have circulated for some time.

Questions have been asked, for example, about friendships between Australian politicians, including a former Defence Minister, and Chinese nationals or expatriates with connections to the Communist Party (CCP). Alarms have been rung about alleged cyber-intrusions into various systems, up to and including a Prime Minister’s email account. It has even been suggested that agents of the Chinese state stole the blueprints for the new Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) building in Canberra, plans that included details of the location of servers, among other things.

In 2017, these stories multiplied rapidly, culminating in a series of major reports compiled the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH). In June that year, the ABC’s Four Corners program detailed various alleged attempts by Beijing and by Beijing-linked individuals to gain influence over serving and retired politicians through campaign donations, gifts, and promises of lucrative post-parliament directorships.

Please click here to read the full “Debating China’s influence in Australia” article at the IAPS Dialogue by Griffith Asia Institute member, Professor Ian Hall.