A senior Chinese diplomat on the run in Australia claims China has a network of about 1,000 agents in the country who have been involved in kidnappings of dissidents. The diplomat, Chen Yonglin, said his work in Australia included monitoring the activities of dissident Chinese groups, including Falun Gong practitioners and supporters of Tibet, Taiwan and Uighur separatists in western China. Chen, 37, consul for political affairs at the consulate-general in Sydney, left his post on May 26 and has sought political asylum from the Australian government for himself, his wife Jin Ping and their six-year-old daughter Chen Fangrong. Chen made his claims in a letter made public by Australian media and in an address to a pro-democracy rally in Sydney on Saturday marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing on June 4, 1989. The Chinese embassy says Chen's accusations are "fabrications" and that he simply wants to live in Australia rather than returning to Beijing. An embassy statement issued on Sunday night said: "To achieve the aim of staying in Australia, Chen Yonglin fabricated stories which are unfounded and purely fictitious." A spokesperson for Australia's immigration department told CNN on Monday that Chen's visa application was lodged on Friday and would be processed "on its merits" in the normal way. He said any plea for political asylum by Chen was a matter for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs.
