AAustralia has long been considered a testing ground for political influence from Beijing. Now the head of the Australian secret service in Canberra has given indications of how far these activities apparently go and have already gone in the past. The head of the spy agency ASIO, Mike Burgess, did not mention the country's name in his statement. But in Australia he was understood to have spoken about China and its extensive intelligence activities.
According to the intelligence chief, Chinese spies are trying to recruit academics, politicians and business people in Australia by contacting them under false names via online networks. They promise money for “consultancy work” and additional amounts for “exclusive” information. “Currently there is a certain team in a certain foreign intelligence agency that is particularly focused on Australia,” Burgess said in his annual threat report in the capital Canberra.
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