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Anonymous ID: 064448 Dec. 6, 2020, 1:19 a.m. No.11922691   🗄️.is đź”—kun

Chinese interference in the New Zealand political system is again in the spotlight with the news National MP Jian Yang, who admitted to training spies for the Chinese government, will retire at the next election.

 

Yang had faced numerous allegations of being a spy for the Chinese government in his time as an MP.

 

His resignation comes as a Parliamentary committee is on the verge of completing an explosive inquiry into the extent of Chinese interference in the New Zealand political system, which is alleged to extend beyond just Wellington and into local governments up and down the country.

 

The inquiry had heard allegations that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sought to influence local body politics in New Zealand through an extensive network of community organisations funded by the Chinese government and its embassy in Wellington. Submitters allege influence extends from local body politics to community groups, to Chinese language media.

 

Over several weeks of submissions, the committee has heard from well-known New Zealand-based Chinese dissidents who allege they have suffered bullying, intimidation, and ostracisation from the Chinese community for speaking out against the CCP.

 

READ MORE:

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  • Grappling with external threats to NZ's democracy

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The committee has recently published a controversial submission by China expert Anne-Marie Brady, a professor at Canterbury University. That submission was held back for several weeks so that the people it mentions, including Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel could respond to Brady’s allegations.

 

Brady’s submission alleges the Chinese administration is seeking to spread its influence through local body politics in New Zealand, as it sees local body politics as the soft underbelly of the New Zealand political system.

 

Local government politicians could be used to “undermine the policy of the central government,” Brady notes. They're also more susceptible to interference because they “do not have foreign policy expertise or advisers, or access to regular national security briefings”.

 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300054428/parliamentary-inquiry-hears-evidence-of-chinese-political-interference-in-new-zealand-political-system