QResear.ch

#21755255 at 2024-10-13 04:05:35 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 99
Australia / China Tensions - Page 14
>>21593741 Beijing 'is suppressing ethnic Chinese in Australia': Taiwan - Taiwan's Foreign Minister has ?accused China of suppressing Australia's ethnic Chinese population, saying Beijing gave up on its trade sanctions against Canberra only because they failed. Lin Chia-lung also said Taiwan did not fear the slow improvement in Australia's relationship with China because it was not a "zero sum game". He said Australia's recent experience as a victim of Chinese trade sanctions worth $20bn required other countries in the region to join forces to push back against any future bullyboy trade tactics by China. In strongly worded comments in an interview in Taipei, Mr Lin said Beijing's aggressive behaviour extended to China's attempts to control or "suppress" the behaviour and the public attitude of the Chinese population in Australia. "Recently we also see that Chinese have a long-armed jurisdiction over some citizens in Australia, they suppress people overseas," Mr Lin told The Australian. Intelligence agencies believe China has actively sought to influence and pressure ethnic Chinese in Australia, especially students, to promote the interests and views of Beijing and suppress criticism of the Chinese Communist Party. Mr Lin said all countries in the Indo-Pacific were increasingly vulnerable to China's economic coercion. "I know that Chinese policies for Australia caused some detrimental effects on the Australian economy but eventually China stepped back because what China did to Australia is not beneficial to anybody," he said.
>>21600988 Video: Ex-pilot facing extradition makes final bid for freedom - A lengthy submission by a former pilot seeking to halt his extradition to the US to face trial over allegations he unlawfully trained Chinese military personnel will be considered by the attorney-general. Ex-fighter pilot Daniel Duggan has spent 22 months behind bars and was ruled eligible for extradition by a magistrate in May. Mark Dreyfus holds the final say on whether the 56-year-old will be extradited over his alleged crimes. The 89-page submission was given to the attorney-general in late August after months of research, background and expert opinion, Duggan's wife Saffrine said. "It is the most detailed examination into the allegations against Dan and it revealed glaring errors in process and fact in the US case," she said in a statement on Monday. Ms Duggan described the case as "vague, embarrassing and oppressive", saying it had omitted key pieces of evidence such as her husband's flight logbook. While someone could only be extradited for conduct which was a crime in both countries, Ms Duggan said her husband was accused of actions that were only illegal in the US but were "tenuously" linked to legislation enacted in 2018. "In other words, this was legislated nine months after the US indictment, and six years after Dan's alleged offences. It is retrospective," she said. Duggan was arrested in Australia in October 2022 at the behest of the US after being accused of breaching arms-trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.
>>21614220 Video: Chinese military video appears to show 'dangerous' intercept of Australian aircraft over South China Sea - The People's Liberation Army has released video of a 2022 incident that appears to show a Chinese J-16 fighter intercepting an "enemy" Australian P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft while it was conducting a routine patrol in international airspace. During the encounter over the South China Sea, the PLA aircraft flew closely alongside the RAAF plane firing flares, before cutting in front of it and releasing "chaff" into its flight path, which included aluminium fragments that were sucked into the P-8's engine. More than two years after the "dangerous" intercept, the Chinese military broadcast the video of the events as part of a PLA documentary in which the J-16 pilot described "facing a strong enemy, a tough opponent" and not being "afraid". According to the PLA propaganda film shown on Chinese state television in recent days, a "flashing infrared bomb" was also fired towards the Australian aircraft, although the ABC has been unable to verify this claim. Australia's defence department said it was aware of the "unverified" video that purported to show the 2022 incident and emphasised that it had undertaken maritime surveillance activities in the region for decades "in accordance with international law".

#21600988 at 2024-09-16 10:38:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

>>20886418 (pb)
Ex-pilot facing extradition makes final bid for freedom

Miklos Bolza - September 16 2024

A lengthy submission by a former pilot seeking to halt his extradition to the US to face trial over allegations he unlawfully trained Chinese military personnel will be considered by the attorney-general.

Ex-fighter pilot Daniel Duggan has spent 22 months behind bars and was ruled eligible for extradition by a magistrate in May.

Mark Dreyfus holds the final say on whether the 56-year-old will be extradited over his alleged crimes.

The 89-page submission was given to the attorney-general in late August after months of research, background and expert opinion, Duggan's wife Saffrine said .

"It is the most detailed examination into the allegations against Dan and it revealed glaring errors in process and fact in the US case," she said in a statement on Monday.

Ms Duggan described the case as "vague, embarrassing and oppressive", saying it had omitted key pieces of evidence such as her husband's flight logbook.

While someone could only be extradited for conduct which was a crime in both countries, Ms Duggan said her husband was accused of actions that were only illegal in the US but were "tenuously" linked to legislation enacted in 2018.

"In other words, this was legislated nine months after the US indictment, and six years after Dan's alleged offences. It is retrospective," she said.

Ms Duggan asked the Attorney-General to look closely at the case and their submission, inviting Mr Dreyfus and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to talk to her family.

"We pray and respectfully ask the Attorney-General to take the time to properly review this case," she said.

"That he has the strength to make the right decision to allow my husband to come home to me and our children."

Duggan was arrested in Australia in October 2022 at the behest of the US after being accused of breaching arms-trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

He allegedly received about $100,000 for his services.

In a prison letter, Duggan said he believed his activities were lawful and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the US Naval Central Intelligence Service knew of his work.

Initially held at Lithgow's maximum-security jail, he was transferred to Macquarie Correctional Centre in June.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8765276/ex-pilot-facing-extradition-makes-final-bid-for-freedom/

https://x.com/FreeDanDuggan/status/1835513762016903246

#21252175 at 2024-07-20 14:35:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 84
Australia / China Tensions - Part 8
>>21004567 Chinese premier visit to include both 'panda diplomacy' and difficult issues - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to use a four-day visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang to raise difficult issues including provocative military actions by China's People's Liberation Army as hopes grow that Chinese pandas will remain in Australia as a symbol of improved relations between the two nations. Li - who is second-in-command in the Chinese system to President Xi Jinping - will visit Australia from June 15-18, the first visit by a Chinese premier in seven years and the latest sign of stabilisation in a bilateral relationship that soured dramatically during the Morrison government. Albanese said he would warn China not to put the lives of Australian military personnel at risk, raise the suspended death sentence handed to Chinese-Australian academic Yang Hengjun and push for the resumption of Australian shellfish exports. After arriving on Saturday evening, Li will first visit Adelaide Zoo, home to the only giant pandas in the southern hemisphere, before travelling to Canberra and Western Australia. Li could use his Sunday zoo visit to announce an extension of the prized panda loan agreement between Australia and China, which was due to expire at the end of this year.
>>21004607 Coalition wants annual intelligence analysis of China - The Coalition wants the nation's peak intelligence assessment body to issue annual threat assessments calling out Chinese foreign interference, saying Beijing's relentless propaganda operations could not go unanswered. Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson will propose the new role for the Office of National Intelligence in a major speech on Tuesday, arguing its "unparalleled situational awareness" is not being sufficiently utilised. Senator Paterson will tell the Global Information Conference in Adelaide that China has long placed "information warfare" at the centre of its strategic plans, and Australia needs to fight back with truth and transparency. Pointing to the Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, he will flag similar yearly statements by ONI if the Coalition is elected. The proposed assessments would focus on Australia's immediate region and "should provide specific examples of foreign interference, cyber-attacks, corruption and coercion", Senator Paterson will say. The director-general of intelligence, Andrew Shearer, could be called upon to deliver an annual speech on his agency's assessment, like those provided each year by ASIO boss Mike Burgess, Senator Paterson will suggest.

>>21004625 Plea to NSW premier for ex-pilot facing extradition - The wife of a former US pilot facing possible extradition to the United States for unlawfully training Chinese pilots has asked the NSW premier for help after her husband was transferred to another prison. Ex-fighter pilot Daniel Duggan spent 19 months in the maximum-security prison at Lithgow before a magistrate ruled him eligible for extradition in May. He has since been transferred to Macquarie Correctional Centre in Wellington weeks before federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus determines whether he should be surrendered to the US. On Friday, his wife Saffrine Duggan sent a letter to NSW Premier Chris Minns saying the ex-pilot's conditions had "significantly deteriorated" and he was further away from his family and legal team. "I can only assume this is a mistake ... which you can remedy as a matter of urgency given the horrendous impact it has had on my family," she wrote. Because of the transfer, Duggan had lost access to a computer to prepare his case for the attorney-general and meetings with his legal team had been "cancelled, delayed and changed," she said.
>>21009124 Protest clashes to mar China's panda diplomacy - Police are preparing for potential clashes between "patriotic" ?Chinese and anti-China protesters when Premier Li Qiang visits Canberra next week, after Beijing urged its Australian supporters to show up in force to welcome the country's No. 2 leader. The call-out came as Anthony Albanese framed Mr Li's trip as a boost for Australia's economic prosperity, noting China's hunger for the nation's resources including critical minerals. Xi Jinping's right-hand man will kick off his June 15-18 Australian trip in Adelaide, where he is expected to announce that two pandas on loan at the city's zoo will have their stay extended. Mr Li will meet winemakers in the South Australian capital on Sunday and attend a state lunch hosted by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Trade Minister Don Farrell, before heading to Canberra for talks with Mr Albanese on Monday. The Prime Minister will accompany the Chinese leader to Perth the following day for talks with business leaders and tours of a Chinese-backed lithium venture and a Fortescue Metals Group ?hydrogen plant.

#21252168 at 2024-07-20 14:33:56 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 82
Australia / China Tensions - Part 6
>>20959239 AFP stopped allowing Chinese police to operate in Australia over foreign interference concerns, Senate hearing told - The Australian Federal Police has told a parliamentary hearing it halted a years-long policy of allowing Chinese police to come and operate in Australia, following a 2019 incident exposed by the ABC's Four Corners program. AFP Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney told the hearing that the 2019 case was "a turning point", and that the policy was ended due to the agency's greater awareness of foreign interference threats. "2019-2020 was a pivotal moment in terms of our relationship," Deputy Commissioner McCartney later said, adding that the decision to stop the Chinese police visits was due to the growth of foreign interference. "We made a conscious decision in executive that we weren't going to apply that guidance again," he said. The AFP were questioned following revelations in a Four Corners episode last month that the federal police had allowed Chinese officers to come to Australia, and those officers then escorted a 59-year-old female Australian resident back to China. The visit occurred under protocols and guidelines established by the AFP after a 2014 incident when Chinese police officers slipped into Australia unannounced in an attempt to convince a Melbourne bus driver to return to China. The guidelines state that officers of China's national policing and security agency, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), could only come to Australia if the matter being investigated was serious, the suspect was not an Australian citizen, and they were willing to engage with MPS officers. Four Corners reported the MPS officers breached agreed protocol during the 2019 visit that led the AFP to reassess their agreement with the MPS about police visits.
>>20964535 Foreign Minister Penny Wong demands end to suppression of freedoms in China on 35th anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has commemorated the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre and urged China to "cease suppression of freedoms". On June 4, 1989, after seven weeks of protests against corruption, inflation and authoritarianism, Tiananmen Square hosted one of the darkest days of China's history. The Chinese Communist Party declared martial law and deployed troops to the square, where hundreds, maybe thousands, of people were killed. The number of students who died has not been confirmed but estimates have ranged from several hundred to more than 10,000. Ms Wong observed the 35th anniversary of the "tragic events" on Tuesday and recalled "the use of brutal force against student protesters in Beijing". "We remember the tragic events and loss of life on 4 June 1989, along with the international community," Ms Wong said. "As we have consistently said, Australia remains concerned about ongoing restrictions on freedom of association, expression and political participation in China. "We call on China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society and to release those detained for peacefully expressing their political views."
>>20976344 US, 'Five Eyes' allies warn China recruiting Western military trainers - The U.S. and other "Five Eyes" countries on Wednesday warned that China has been circumventing measures aimed at halting its recruitment of current and former Western military pilots and other personnel to train the Chinese military. "Western recruits who train the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) may increase the risk of future conflict by reducing our deterrence capabilities," said a public bulletin issued by the U.S., British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand intelligence services. The notice is the latest warning by the English-speaking "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance about rising concerns with Chinese government-directed espionage, cyber hacking and intellectual property theft as Beijing's growing might has roiled relations with Washington and its allies. The PLA is using private companies in South Africa and China to hire former fighter pilots, flight engineers and air operations center personnel from Western countries to train its Air Force and Navy aviators, the services said in the notice. "The PLA wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight into Western air tactics, techniques, and procedures," the notice said. It said the efforts represented a "persistent, adaptive threat," with the insight gleaned by the PLA a threat to "U.S. and allied security." In one high-profile case, former U.S. Marine pilot Daniel Duggan is fighting extradition from Australia on U.S. charges of training Chinese military pilots through a South African flight school in how to land on aircraft carriers.

#21252158 at 2024-07-20 14:33:01 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 79
Australia / China Tensions - Part 3
>>20909164 Daniel Duggan case: 'Mr Duggan is eligible for surrender' over Chinese fighter pilots training claims - A former US marine pilot who has been accused of unlawfully training Chinese fighter pilots has been deemed eligible for extradition to the US after his lawyers conceded they have no legal grounds to fight the request. Daniel Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 over charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering after the US requested he be extradited. US authorities allege Duggan breached money laundering and arms export control laws while teaching foreign pilots at a flying academy in South Africa more than 12 years ago. They also claim Duggan taught pilots - including Chinese citizens - how to land atop an aircraft carrier, and therefore breached US arms control laws. Duggan was allegedly paid more than $110,000 for his expertise but he had not sought the government's permission to undertake the role. Magistrate Daniel Reiss confirmed Duggan is eligible for extradition on Friday afternoon, with the final decision to be handed down by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.
>>20909180 Ex-US Marines fighter pilot loses bid to block extradition to the United States over China training allegations - The fate of former US Marines pilot Daniel Duggan now rests with Australia's attorney general after a magistrate ruled he was eligible to be extradited to the United States to face charges related to the alleged training of Chinese military pilots. After a short hearing on Friday, Magistrate Daniel Reiss found that Duggan met the conditions for extradition and ordered him to be moved to prison while lawyers for the US wait for Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to approve his removal. Duggan has 15 days to seek a review of the order, which comes 19 months after his arrest in rural New South Wales, just weeks after returning from China to join his family in Australia. Duggan's wife Saffrine stood outside court with their six children, as she appealed to the Australian authorities to intervene. "My husband is a good man, a great father, a wonderful friend and husband. He faces no Australian charges and has no criminal background whatsoever. Yet he is locked up by the say-so of the United States government," she said.

>>20909198 Video: NSW magistrate rules ex-marine pilot Daniel Duggan can be handed over to US over claims he trained Chinese pilots - A former US marine pilot accused of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military has been deemed eligible for surrender to America by a NSW court, leaving his hopes of avoiding extradition in the hands of the federal attorney-general. Daniel Edmund Duggan, an Australian citizen, denies allegations by the US he helped train Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago, which relate to his work at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa. US authorities allege Mr Duggan was paid about $100,000 for his services but had not sought permission from the US government to provide the training. The 55-year-old has been held in a maximum-security jail in NSW for the past 19 months after he was arrested in October 2022 at the behest of the US.
>>20909230 Video: Ex-US pilot accused of training Chinese military loses legal bid to block extradition - An ex-US fighter pilot and Australian citizen has been ruled eligible for extradition to his former home country for prosecution on allegations of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military. Former top gun Daniel Duggan has spent 19 months in a maximum-security prison before today's hearing in a Sydney court on the US extradition order. Magistrate Daniel Reiss ruled him eligible for extradition this afternoon after barrister Bret Walker SC told the court Duggan could not legally mount a defence. The magistrate ordered Duggan be held in custody to await extradition under a temporary surrender warrant, an order he can appeal for review within 15 days. Duggan's wife, children and supporters gathered outside Downing Centre Local Court before the extradition hearing to call for his freedom. "This deliberate torture has to stop today," Saffrine Duggan said.

#21252157 at 2024-07-20 14:32:41 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 78
Australia / China Tensions - Part 2
>>20903682 Daniel Duggan: Man accused of training Chinese pilots airs ASIO claims - A former fighter pilot accused of aiding China's military will claim Australia's intelligence agency knew about his actions and tried to bring him on board as a spy. Daniel Duggan, 55, has spent 17 months in a maximum-security prison as he fights a US extradition order. He was arrested in Australia at the behest of the US after being accused of breaching American arms trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012. The former US top gun stands accused of training the Chinese military to land on aircraft carriers. He renounced his US citizenship in 2012 and became an Australian citizen in the same year. Duggan and his family argue the charges are politically motivated given the deterioration of the Sino-American relationship and how long ago the alleged actions occurred. In a letter from prison, seen by AAP, Duggan said he believed his activities weren't illegal and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the US Naval Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) knew of his work. "Neither ASIO or NCIS made any claim or gave any warning that the activity was considered illegal," he wrote.
>>20903719 PLA holds joint drills surrounding Taiwan island to punish secessionist forces - "The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Thursday morning launched a military exercise surrounding the island of Taiwan in a move to punish "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and to send a warning to belligerent external forces following Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's separatist inaugural speech on May 20. Designed to surround the island of Taiwan from both the east and the west, the exercises display the PLA's strike capability across all directions of the island without any blind spots, forming a situation where the island is pinned down from both sides, experts said. The PLA has a complete arsenal available to resolve the Taiwan question if a prospect for a peaceful reunification no longer exists, and the "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and external interference forces should fully realize that the PLA is fully determined and capable of safeguarding China's national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, analysts said." - Liu Xuanzun and Guo Yuandan - globaltimes.cn

>>20909118 Daniel Duggan: Ex-pilot has 'no arguments' to make against extradition - An ex-US fighter pilot's lawyers have conceded they have no case to mount against his extradition as he faces prosecution in the US on allegations of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military. Former top gun Daniel Duggan has spent 19 months in a maximum-security prison before Friday's hearing in a Sydney court on the US extradition order. Magistrate Daniel Reiss will deliver a decision on his eligibility for extradition on Friday afternoon after barrister Bret Walker SC told a court Duggan could not legally mount a defence. Asked by the magistrate if Friday's hearing would be contested, Mr Walker told the court: "Not really, no." There was no argument to written material provided by lawyers for the US, he added. The magistrate can order Duggan to stay in custody to await extradition, an order he can appeal for review within 15 days, lawyer Trent Glover, acting for the US, told the court. Mr Reiss noted that the position from Duggan's lawyers had "streamlined the considerations significantly".
>>20909138 Daniel Duggan loses fight against extradition to US over allegedly training Chinese pilots, magistrate rules - Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen and former US marine pilot wanted in the United States over allegations he trained Chinese fighter pilots, is eligible to be extradited, a Sydney magistrate has ruled. Duggan appeared in court for the first time since his arrest 19 months ago, dressed in a grey suit jacket, white shirt and blue tie. From behind the security glass of the dock he blew kisses to his family and supporters, and made a love-heart symbol towards his wife, Saffrine, mouthing the words "I love you". The magistrate, Daniel Reiss, told the court Duggan was "eligible for surrender" to the US and ordered that he be committed to prison. Duggan has 15 days to seek a review in the federal court. The extradition process, which involves several levels of review and appeal before a final decision by the attorney general, could remain before Australian authorities for years. In his formal decision, Reiss wrote: "Mr Duggan has not pressed any extradition objections and has not tendered any documentation that might support any such objection. "Mr Duggan has not satisfied the court that there are substantial grounds for believing that there is an extradition objection in relation to the offences. "I therefore conclude that Mr Duggan is eligible for extradition to the USA."

#21252154 at 2024-07-20 14:32:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 77
Australia / China Tensions - Part 1
>>20886418 Video: Former US fighter pilot accused of giving military secrets to China - A former US Marine fighter pilot and current Australian citizen is facing extradition to America, accused of sharing military secrets with China. Who is the real Daniel Duggan? It's a simple question, but the answer is highly contested and has enormous consequences. For his family and a large group of supporters, he's a hero. A former US Marine fighter pilot turned proud Australian citizen; a loving husband and devoted dad. For others though, namely the United States government, he's a traitor, accused of supplying China with top-secret military information. For the past 19 months, Duggan has been sitting in Australian prisons fighting attempts to send him back to the United States. As Dimity Clancey reports, a decision about his extradition is expected within weeks, but if the Americans get a hold of him and can prove the allegations, he faces up to 65 more years locked up. It's a thought his wife Saffrine and six children are struggling to comprehend. - 60 Minutes Australia
>>20890891 Video: Chinese ambassador to New Zealand critical of AUKUS Pillar Two - The Chinese ambassador to New Zealand has issued a stern warning over AUKUS as NZ explores the possibility of joining Pillar Two of the US-led security pact. Speaking at the China Business Summit in Auckland today, Ambassador Wang Xiaolong spoke about China's economic outlook and its trade relationship with New Zealand. It comes as the Government considers joining AUKUS's non-nuclear second pillar, which would move New Zealand further away from China - our biggest trade partner. AUKUS is a deal between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States under which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines for its defence force. The stated aim of Pillar Two is about sharing advanced technology, like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The tech could also include drones or support systems for hypersonic weapons. In his speech, Wang said China and New Zealand's relationship was at a "critical juncture". He was heavily critical of AUKUS and said it would only serve to heighten tensions in the region. "The sole purpose of the second pillar is to serve and support nuclear-related military cooperation under the first pillar rather than being an innocent platform for technology sharing," he said. "Many people in New Zealand and beyond believe that joining such an alliance in whatever form is indeed taking sides."
>>20895188 Australia keen to keep police in Solomon Islands - Australia stands ready to help Solomon Islands build a military force, as Defence Minister Richard Marles seized the opportunity to hold talks with the nation's new prime minister. Mr Marles has travelled to Honiara for high-level meetings as the Pacific nation transitions to a new government under the leadership of Jeremiah Manele. The defence minister, who pledged $50 million for border management and a health centre on Tuesday, said Australia would help establish a military as previously put forward by former prime minister Manasseh Sogavare. "If Solomon Islands wishes to walk down that path, we stand ready to assist Solomon Islands in the establishment of such course," he said. Mr Marles said the government was "very open" to ensuring an ongoing presence of Australian police remained in Solomon Islands. A security deal inked with Beijing in 2022 by Mr Sogavare, who encouraged Chinese investment in the Pacific Island nation, alarmed Australia and the US. Mr Manele said his nation was ready to discuss a "much, much larger bilateral co-operation" with Canberra. "Australia remains Solomon Islands' partner of choice and I want to see our relationship grow to new heights during my tenure as prime minister," he told Mr Marles in his first meeting as leader, a statement read.

#21251619 at 2024-07-20 13:13:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#36 - Part 84
Australia / China Tensions - Part 8
>>21004567 Chinese premier visit to include both 'panda diplomacy' and difficult issues - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to use a four-day visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang to raise difficult issues including provocative military actions by China's People's Liberation Army as hopes grow that Chinese pandas will remain in Australia as a symbol of improved relations between the two nations. Li - who is second-in-command in the Chinese system to President Xi Jinping - will visit Australia from June 15-18, the first visit by a Chinese premier in seven years and the latest sign of stabilisation in a bilateral relationship that soured dramatically during the Morrison government. Albanese said he would warn China not to put the lives of Australian military personnel at risk, raise the suspended death sentence handed to Chinese-Australian academic Yang Hengjun and push for the resumption of Australian shellfish exports. After arriving on Saturday evening, Li will first visit Adelaide Zoo, home to the only giant pandas in the southern hemisphere, before travelling to Canberra and Western Australia. Li could use his Sunday zoo visit to announce an extension of the prized panda loan agreement between Australia and China, which was due to expire at the end of this year.
>>21004607 Coalition wants annual intelligence analysis of China - The Coalition wants the nation's peak intelligence assessment body to issue annual threat assessments calling out Chinese foreign interference, saying Beijing's relentless propaganda operations could not go unanswered. Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson will propose the new role for the Office of National Intelligence in a major speech on Tuesday, arguing its "unparalleled situational awareness" is not being sufficiently utilised. Senator Paterson will tell the Global Information Conference in Adelaide that China has long placed "information warfare" at the centre of its strategic plans, and Australia needs to fight back with truth and transparency. Pointing to the Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, he will flag similar yearly statements by ONI if the Coalition is elected. The proposed assessments would focus on Australia's immediate region and "should provide specific examples of foreign interference, cyber-attacks, corruption and coercion", Senator Paterson will say. The director-general of intelligence, Andrew Shearer, could be called upon to deliver an annual speech on his agency's assessment, like those provided each year by ASIO boss Mike Burgess, Senator Paterson will suggest.

>>21004625 Plea to NSW premier for ex-pilot facing extradition - The wife of a former US pilot facing possible extradition to the United States for unlawfully training Chinese pilots has asked the NSW premier for help after her husband was transferred to another prison. Ex-fighter pilot Daniel Duggan spent 19 months in the maximum-security prison at Lithgow before a magistrate ruled him eligible for extradition in May. He has since been transferred to Macquarie Correctional Centre in Wellington weeks before federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus determines whether he should be surrendered to the US. On Friday, his wife Saffrine Duggan sent a letter to NSW Premier Chris Minns saying the ex-pilot's conditions had "significantly deteriorated" and he was further away from his family and legal team. "I can only assume this is a mistake ... which you can remedy as a matter of urgency given the horrendous impact it has had on my family," she wrote. Because of the transfer, Duggan had lost access to a computer to prepare his case for the attorney-general and meetings with his legal team had been "cancelled, delayed and changed," she said.
>>21009124 Protest clashes to mar China's panda diplomacy - Police are preparing for potential clashes between "patriotic" ?Chinese and anti-China protesters when Premier Li Qiang visits Canberra next week, after Beijing urged its Australian supporters to show up in force to welcome the country's No. 2 leader. The call-out came as Anthony Albanese framed Mr Li's trip as a boost for Australia's economic prosperity, noting China's hunger for the nation's resources including critical minerals. Xi Jinping's right-hand man will kick off his June 15-18 Australian trip in Adelaide, where he is expected to announce that two pandas on loan at the city's zoo will have their stay extended. Mr Li will meet winemakers in the South Australian capital on Sunday and attend a state lunch hosted by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Trade Minister Don Farrell, before heading to Canberra for talks with Mr Albanese on Monday. The Prime Minister will accompany the Chinese leader to Perth the following day for talks with business leaders and tours of a Chinese-backed lithium venture and a Fortescue Metals Group ?hydrogen plant.

#21251605 at 2024-07-20 13:12:25 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#36 - Part 82
Australia / China Tensions - Part 6
>>20959239 AFP stopped allowing Chinese police to operate in Australia over foreign interference concerns, Senate hearing told - The Australian Federal Police has told a parliamentary hearing it halted a years-long policy of allowing Chinese police to come and operate in Australia, following a 2019 incident exposed by the ABC's Four Corners program. AFP Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney told the hearing that the 2019 case was "a turning point", and that the policy was ended due to the agency's greater awareness of foreign interference threats. "2019-2020 was a pivotal moment in terms of our relationship," Deputy Commissioner McCartney later said, adding that the decision to stop the Chinese police visits was due to the growth of foreign interference. "We made a conscious decision in executive that we weren't going to apply that guidance again," he said. The AFP were questioned following revelations in a Four Corners episode last month that the federal police had allowed Chinese officers to come to Australia, and those officers then escorted a 59-year-old female Australian resident back to China. The visit occurred under protocols and guidelines established by the AFP after a 2014 incident when Chinese police officers slipped into Australia unannounced in an attempt to convince a Melbourne bus driver to return to China. The guidelines state that officers of China's national policing and security agency, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), could only come to Australia if the matter being investigated was serious, the suspect was not an Australian citizen, and they were willing to engage with MPS officers. Four Corners reported the MPS officers breached agreed protocol during the 2019 visit that led the AFP to reassess their agreement with the MPS about police visits.
>>20964535 Foreign Minister Penny Wong demands end to suppression of freedoms in China on 35th anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has commemorated the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre and urged China to "cease suppression of freedoms". On June 4, 1989, after seven weeks of protests against corruption, inflation and authoritarianism, Tiananmen Square hosted one of the darkest days of China's history. The Chinese Communist Party declared martial law and deployed troops to the square, where hundreds, maybe thousands, of people were killed. The number of students who died has not been confirmed but estimates have ranged from several hundred to more than 10,000. Ms Wong observed the 35th anniversary of the "tragic events" on Tuesday and recalled "the use of brutal force against student protesters in Beijing". "We remember the tragic events and loss of life on 4 June 1989, along with the international community," Ms Wong said. "As we have consistently said, Australia remains concerned about ongoing restrictions on freedom of association, expression and political participation in China. "We call on China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society and to release those detained for peacefully expressing their political views."
>>20976344 US, 'Five Eyes' allies warn China recruiting Western military trainers - The U.S. and other "Five Eyes" countries on Wednesday warned that China has been circumventing measures aimed at halting its recruitment of current and former Western military pilots and other personnel to train the Chinese military. "Western recruits who train the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) may increase the risk of future conflict by reducing our deterrence capabilities," said a public bulletin issued by the U.S., British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand intelligence services. The notice is the latest warning by the English-speaking "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance about rising concerns with Chinese government-directed espionage, cyber hacking and intellectual property theft as Beijing's growing might has roiled relations with Washington and its allies. The PLA is using private companies in South Africa and China to hire former fighter pilots, flight engineers and air operations center personnel from Western countries to train its Air Force and Navy aviators, the services said in the notice. "The PLA wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight into Western air tactics, techniques, and procedures," the notice said. It said the efforts represented a "persistent, adaptive threat," with the insight gleaned by the PLA a threat to "U.S. and allied security." In one high-profile case, former U.S. Marine pilot Daniel Duggan is fighting extradition from Australia on U.S. charges of training Chinese military pilots through a South African flight school in how to land on aircraft carriers.

#21251587 at 2024-07-20 13:10:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#36 - Part 79
Australia / China Tensions - Part 3
>>20909164 Daniel Duggan case: 'Mr Duggan is eligible for surrender' over Chinese fighter pilots training claims - A former US marine pilot who has been accused of unlawfully training Chinese fighter pilots has been deemed eligible for extradition to the US after his lawyers conceded they have no legal grounds to fight the request. Daniel Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 over charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering after the US requested he be extradited. US authorities allege Duggan breached money laundering and arms export control laws while teaching foreign pilots at a flying academy in South Africa more than 12 years ago. They also claim Duggan taught pilots - including Chinese citizens - how to land atop an aircraft carrier, and therefore breached US arms control laws. Duggan was allegedly paid more than $110,000 for his expertise but he had not sought the government's permission to undertake the role. Magistrate Daniel Reiss confirmed Duggan is eligible for extradition on Friday afternoon, with the final decision to be handed down by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.
>>20909180 Ex-US Marines fighter pilot loses bid to block extradition to the United States over China training allegations - The fate of former US Marines pilot Daniel Duggan now rests with Australia's attorney general after a magistrate ruled he was eligible to be extradited to the United States to face charges related to the alleged training of Chinese military pilots. After a short hearing on Friday, Magistrate Daniel Reiss found that Duggan met the conditions for extradition and ordered him to be moved to prison while lawyers for the US wait for Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to approve his removal. Duggan has 15 days to seek a review of the order, which comes 19 months after his arrest in rural New South Wales, just weeks after returning from China to join his family in Australia. Duggan's wife Saffrine stood outside court with their six children, as she appealed to the Australian authorities to intervene. "My husband is a good man, a great father, a wonderful friend and husband. He faces no Australian charges and has no criminal background whatsoever. Yet he is locked up by the say-so of the United States government," she said.

>>20909198 Video: NSW magistrate rules ex-marine pilot Daniel Duggan can be handed over to US over claims he trained Chinese pilots - A former US marine pilot accused of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military has been deemed eligible for surrender to America by a NSW court, leaving his hopes of avoiding extradition in the hands of the federal attorney-general. Daniel Edmund Duggan, an Australian citizen, denies allegations by the US he helped train Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago, which relate to his work at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa. US authorities allege Mr Duggan was paid about $100,000 for his services but had not sought permission from the US government to provide the training. The 55-year-old has been held in a maximum-security jail in NSW for the past 19 months after he was arrested in October 2022 at the behest of the US.
>>20909230 Video: Ex-US pilot accused of training Chinese military loses legal bid to block extradition - An ex-US fighter pilot and Australian citizen has been ruled eligible for extradition to his former home country for prosecution on allegations of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military. Former top gun Daniel Duggan has spent 19 months in a maximum-security prison before today's hearing in a Sydney court on the US extradition order. Magistrate Daniel Reiss ruled him eligible for extradition this afternoon after barrister Bret Walker SC told the court Duggan could not legally mount a defence. The magistrate ordered Duggan be held in custody to await extradition under a temporary surrender warrant, an order he can appeal for review within 15 days. Duggan's wife, children and supporters gathered outside Downing Centre Local Court before the extradition hearing to call for his freedom. "This deliberate torture has to stop today," Saffrine Duggan said.

#21251581 at 2024-07-20 13:09:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#36 - Part 78
Australia / China Tensions - Part 2
>>20903682 Daniel Duggan: Man accused of training Chinese pilots airs ASIO claims - A former fighter pilot accused of aiding China's military will claim Australia's intelligence agency knew about his actions and tried to bring him on board as a spy. Daniel Duggan, 55, has spent 17 months in a maximum-security prison as he fights a US extradition order. He was arrested in Australia at the behest of the US after being accused of breaching American arms trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012. The former US top gun stands accused of training the Chinese military to land on aircraft carriers. He renounced his US citizenship in 2012 and became an Australian citizen in the same year. Duggan and his family argue the charges are politically motivated given the deterioration of the Sino-American relationship and how long ago the alleged actions occurred. In a letter from prison, seen by AAP, Duggan said he believed his activities weren't illegal and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the US Naval Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) knew of his work. "Neither ASIO or NCIS made any claim or gave any warning that the activity was considered illegal," he wrote.
>>20903719 PLA holds joint drills surrounding Taiwan island to punish secessionist forces - "The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Thursday morning launched a military exercise surrounding the island of Taiwan in a move to punish "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and to send a warning to belligerent external forces following Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's separatist inaugural speech on May 20. Designed to surround the island of Taiwan from both the east and the west, the exercises display the PLA's strike capability across all directions of the island without any blind spots, forming a situation where the island is pinned down from both sides, experts said. The PLA has a complete arsenal available to resolve the Taiwan question if a prospect for a peaceful reunification no longer exists, and the "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and external interference forces should fully realize that the PLA is fully determined and capable of safeguarding China's national sovereignty, territorial integrity and development interests, analysts said." - Liu Xuanzun and Guo Yuandan - globaltimes.cn

>>20909118 Daniel Duggan: Ex-pilot has 'no arguments' to make against extradition - An ex-US fighter pilot's lawyers have conceded they have no case to mount against his extradition as he faces prosecution in the US on allegations of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military. Former top gun Daniel Duggan has spent 19 months in a maximum-security prison before Friday's hearing in a Sydney court on the US extradition order. Magistrate Daniel Reiss will deliver a decision on his eligibility for extradition on Friday afternoon after barrister Bret Walker SC told a court Duggan could not legally mount a defence. Asked by the magistrate if Friday's hearing would be contested, Mr Walker told the court: "Not really, no." There was no argument to written material provided by lawyers for the US, he added. The magistrate can order Duggan to stay in custody to await extradition, an order he can appeal for review within 15 days, lawyer Trent Glover, acting for the US, told the court. Mr Reiss noted that the position from Duggan's lawyers had "streamlined the considerations significantly".
>>20909138 Daniel Duggan loses fight against extradition to US over allegedly training Chinese pilots, magistrate rules - Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen and former US marine pilot wanted in the United States over allegations he trained Chinese fighter pilots, is eligible to be extradited, a Sydney magistrate has ruled. Duggan appeared in court for the first time since his arrest 19 months ago, dressed in a grey suit jacket, white shirt and blue tie. From behind the security glass of the dock he blew kisses to his family and supporters, and made a love-heart symbol towards his wife, Saffrine, mouthing the words "I love you". The magistrate, Daniel Reiss, told the court Duggan was "eligible for surrender" to the US and ordered that he be committed to prison. Duggan has 15 days to seek a review in the federal court. The extradition process, which involves several levels of review and appeal before a final decision by the attorney general, could remain before Australian authorities for years. In his formal decision, Reiss wrote: "Mr Duggan has not pressed any extradition objections and has not tendered any documentation that might support any such objection. "Mr Duggan has not satisfied the court that there are substantial grounds for believing that there is an extradition objection in relation to the offences. "I therefore conclude that Mr Duggan is eligible for extradition to the USA."

#21251575 at 2024-07-20 13:08:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#36 - Part 77
Australia / China Tensions - Part 1
>>20886418 Video: Former US fighter pilot accused of giving military secrets to China - A former US Marine fighter pilot and current Australian citizen is facing extradition to America, accused of sharing military secrets with China. Who is the real Daniel Duggan? It's a simple question, but the answer is highly contested and has enormous consequences. For his family and a large group of supporters, he's a hero. A former US Marine fighter pilot turned proud Australian citizen; a loving husband and devoted dad. For others though, namely the United States government, he's a traitor, accused of supplying China with top-secret military information. For the past 19 months, Duggan has been sitting in Australian prisons fighting attempts to send him back to the United States. As Dimity Clancey reports, a decision about his extradition is expected within weeks, but if the Americans get a hold of him and can prove the allegations, he faces up to 65 more years locked up. It's a thought his wife Saffrine and six children are struggling to comprehend. - 60 Minutes Australia
>>20890891 Video: Chinese ambassador to New Zealand critical of AUKUS Pillar Two - The Chinese ambassador to New Zealand has issued a stern warning over AUKUS as NZ explores the possibility of joining Pillar Two of the US-led security pact. Speaking at the China Business Summit in Auckland today, Ambassador Wang Xiaolong spoke about China's economic outlook and its trade relationship with New Zealand. It comes as the Government considers joining AUKUS's non-nuclear second pillar, which would move New Zealand further away from China - our biggest trade partner. AUKUS is a deal between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States under which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines for its defence force. The stated aim of Pillar Two is about sharing advanced technology, like artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The tech could also include drones or support systems for hypersonic weapons. In his speech, Wang said China and New Zealand's relationship was at a "critical juncture". He was heavily critical of AUKUS and said it would only serve to heighten tensions in the region. "The sole purpose of the second pillar is to serve and support nuclear-related military cooperation under the first pillar rather than being an innocent platform for technology sharing," he said. "Many people in New Zealand and beyond believe that joining such an alliance in whatever form is indeed taking sides."
>>20895188 Australia keen to keep police in Solomon Islands - Australia stands ready to help Solomon Islands build a military force, as Defence Minister Richard Marles seized the opportunity to hold talks with the nation's new prime minister. Mr Marles has travelled to Honiara for high-level meetings as the Pacific nation transitions to a new government under the leadership of Jeremiah Manele. The defence minister, who pledged $50 million for border management and a health centre on Tuesday, said Australia would help establish a military as previously put forward by former prime minister Manasseh Sogavare. "If Solomon Islands wishes to walk down that path, we stand ready to assist Solomon Islands in the establishment of such course," he said. Mr Marles said the government was "very open" to ensuring an ongoing presence of Australian police remained in Solomon Islands. A security deal inked with Beijing in 2022 by Mr Sogavare, who encouraged Chinese investment in the Pacific Island nation, alarmed Australia and the US. Mr Manele said his nation was ready to discuss a "much, much larger bilateral co-operation" with Canberra. "Australia remains Solomon Islands' partner of choice and I want to see our relationship grow to new heights during my tenure as prime minister," he told Mr Marles in his first meeting as leader, a statement read.

#21004625 at 2024-06-11 11:56:57 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20909138
>>20976344
Plea to NSW premier for ex-pilot facing extradition

Miklos Bolza - June 11 2024

The wife of a former US pilot facing possible extradition to the United States for unlawfully training Chinese pilots has asked the NSW premier for help after her husband was transferred to another prison.

Ex-fighter pilot Daniel Duggan spent 19 months in the maximum-security prison at Lithgow before a magistrate ruled him eligible for extradition in May.

He has since been transferred to Macquarie Correctional Centre in Wellington weeks before federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus determines whether he should be surrendered to the US.

On Friday, his wife Saffrine Duggan sent a letter to NSW Premier Chris Minns saying the ex-pilot's conditions had "significantly deteriorated" and he was further away from his family and legal team.

"I can only assume this is a mistake … which you can remedy as a matter of urgency given the horrendous impact it has had on my family," she wrote.

Because of the transfer, Duggan had lost access to a computer to prepare his case for the attorney-general and meetings with his legal team had been "cancelled, delayed and changed," she said.

On Tuesday, after visiting her husband at the prison in the state's central west, Ms Duggan reiterated that she and the couple's children "want Dan home".

"Dan needs the ability to defend himself and fight for his freedom without all these barriers being put up to waste our precious time," she told AAP.

Mr Minns' office directed queries about Duggan's status to Corrective Services NSW, whose spokeswoman said inmates were transferred between prisons for many reasons, including changes in classification, bed availability, access to programs or operational needs.

With almost 13,000 inmates, the needs of individuals could not always be facilitated, she said.

However, the spokeswoman said each inmate was entitled to regular access to legal services via scheduled phone calls and remote audio-visual visits.

"Any suggestion an inmate would have access to their legal services restricted is untrue," she said.

Duggan was arrested in Australia in October 2022 at the behest of the US after being accused of breaching arms-trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

He allegedly received about $100,000 for his services.

In a prison letter, Duggan said he believed his activities were lawful and that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the US Naval Central Intelligence Service knew of his work.

Ms Duggan has presented a petition with 25,000 signatures to politicians in Canberra, calling on Mr Dreyfus to release her husband and end his extradition.

Meanwhile, the US and other "Five Eyes" countries on Thursday warned western pilots about training the Chinese military.

"Western recruits who train the PLA (People's Liberation Army) may increase the risk of future conflict by reducing our deterrence capabilities," said a public bulletin issued by the US, British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand intelligence services.

While Duggan was not named in the announcement, his wife said the timing was "highly suspect and political" and an attempt to influence the Australian government in its extradition decision.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8659277/plea-to-nsw-premier-for-ex-pilot-facing-extradition/

#20976344 at 2024-06-06 11:00:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20909138
US, 'Five Eyes' allies warn China recruiting Western military trainers

Jonathan Landay and Michael Martina - June 6, 2024

WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. and other "Five Eyes" countries on Wednesday warned that China has been circumventing measures aimed at halting its recruitment of current and former Western military pilots and other personnel to train the Chinese military.

"Western recruits who train the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) may increase the risk of future conflict by reducing our deterrence capabilities," said a public bulletin issued by the U.S., British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand intelligence services.

The notice is the latest warning by the English-speaking "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance about rising concerns with Chinese government-directed espionage, cyber hacking and intellectual property theft as Beijing's growing might has roiled relations with Washington and its allies.

China's embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The PLA is using private companies in South Africa and China to hire former fighter pilots, flight engineers and air operations center personnel from Western countries to train its Air Force and Navy aviators, the services said in the notice.

"The PLA wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight into Western air tactics, techniques, and procedures," the notice said.

It said the efforts represented a "persistent, adaptive threat," with the insight gleaned by the PLA a threat to "U.S. and allied security."

EXOTIC AIRCRAFT

In one high-profile case, former U.S. Marine pilot Daniel Duggan is fighting extradition from Australia on U.S. charges of training Chinese military pilots through a South African flight school in how to land on aircraft carriers.

Duggan, a naturalized Australian citizen, faces U.S. charges including money laundering and breaking arms control law. He denies the allegations.

Personnel are often contacted through headhunting emails or personal acquaintances from the military, or by privately owned companies with hidden ties to the PLA, the notice said.

The Five Eyes agencies asked people to guard against such offers, which they said often entail promises of lucrative salaries or excessive flattery, and to report any attempts to the FBI or military investigators in their countries.

One official from the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), speaking on condition of anonymity, said the governments issued the warning at this time because China "has been adapting" to countermeasures aimed at thwarting recruitment.

Western pilots have been lured into training Chinese pilots by "tons of money" and opportunities "to fly really exotic" Chinese aircraft, said a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that the Chinese military had recruited at least five former pilots from New Zealand and some 30 from Britain, as well as former pilots from Germany and other countries.

The U.S. Commerce Department last year sanctioned more than a dozen companies in China, Kenya, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the U.K, and the United Arab Emirates for their roles in recruiting Western military talent for PLA aviation training.

The U.S. official said the Test Flying Academy of South Africa is "one of the biggest companies" that has been hiring Western former military pilots to train Chinese pilots and has continued doing so despite U.S. sanctions.

The company did not respond immediately to Reuters' request for comment.

In a statement on its website last year, the company said it "does not provide any classified military training, nor train frontline pilots, and all training is based on open-source material or material provided by clients."

It has said it operates with the approval of South African government agencies, does not employ U.S. nationals and had terminated the employment of British nationals following "legal challenges in the U.K. in 2023."

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-five-eyes-allies-warn-china-recruiting-western-military-trainers-2024-06-05/

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/ncsc-newsroom/3832-fvey-partners-warn-of-evolving-efforts-to-recruit-current-and-former-western-service-members-to-bolster-the-prc-s-military

https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/products/Safeguarding_Our_Military_Expertise.pdf

#20909230 at 2024-05-24 15:47:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20909138
Ex-US pilot accused of training Chinese military loses legal bid to block extradition

Miklos Bolza - May 24, 2024

An ex-US fighter pilot and Australian citizen has been ruled eligible for extradition to his former home country for prosecution on allegations of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military.

Former top gun Daniel Duggan has spent 19 months in a maximum-security prison before today's hearing in a Sydney court on the US extradition order.

Magistrate Daniel Reiss ruled him eligible for extradition this afternoon after barrister Bret Walker SC told the court Duggan could not legally mount a defence.

Asked by the magistrate if today's hearing would be contested, Walker told the court: "Not really, no."

There was no argument to written material provided by lawyers for the US, he added.

The magistrate ordered Duggan be held in custody to await extradition under a temporary surrender warrant, an order he can appeal for review within 15 days.

Reiss noted the position from Duggan's lawyers had "streamlined the considerations significantly".

The 55-year-old was arrested in Australia at the behest of the US after being accused of breaching arms trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012, allegedly receiving about $100,000 for his services.

Duggan's wife, children and supporters gathered outside Downing Centre Local Court before the extradition hearing to call for his freedom.

"This deliberate torture has to stop today," Saffrine Duggan said.

Her husband has been kept in a maximum-security prison in solitary confinement, preparing his defence with handwritten notes, while her house has been seized and applications for Legal Aid were rejected, she said.

"They have done everything in their power to make this difficult for my family, to try and break Dan and to break us, but we will fight no matter what," she said.

Duggan blew kisses and made heart gestures from the dock as the courtroom filled with supporters today, some of whom were reminded about laws regarding contempt.

Some remained seated on the floor of the packed courtroom, while one man accused the magistrate of presiding over a "kangaroo court" before leaving the room.

The ex-pilot and his family argue the charges are politically motivated given the deterioration of Sino-American relations and how long ago the alleged actions occurred.

An April court bid failed to postpone the hearing after claims Duggan had racked up $800,000 in legal bills and was unable to fund his future defence.

In a prison letter seen by AAP, Duggan said he believed his activities were lawful and that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the US Naval Central Intelligence Service knew of his work.

Ms Duggan has presented a petition with 25,000 signatures to politicians in Canberra, calling on Dreyfus to release her husband and end his extradition.

Greens Senator David Shoebridge said he would table the petition in parliament.

"Our government should show some guts, our government should make it clear that being an Australian citizen matters, and that when another country comes for you, they'll protect you as best they can … but we've seen none of that," he said.

Dreyfus has been contacted for comment.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/former-us-military-pilot-accused-of-aiding-china-fights-extradition/812c89fa-3a69-4415-bf2d-438403b17879

#20909198 at 2024-05-24 15:37:38 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20909138
NSW magistrate rules ex-marine pilot Daniel Duggan can be handed over to US over claims he trained Chinese pilots

Ethan Rix - 24 May 2024

A former US marine pilot accused of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military has been deemed eligible for surrender to America by a NSW court, leaving his hopes of avoiding extradition in the hands of the federal attorney-general.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, an Australian citizen, denies allegations by the US he helped train Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago, which relate to his work at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa.

US authorities allege Mr Duggan was paid about $100,000 for his services but had not sought permission from the US government to provide the training.

The 55-year-old has been held in a maximum-security jail in NSW for the past 19 months after he was arrested in October 2022 at the behest of the US.

Duggan found eligible for surrender

At Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, Magistrate Daniel Reiss told Mr Duggan he was eligible for surrender to the US and made an order for the father-of-six to be committed to prison.

Mr Duggan's legal team were expected to make submissions against his extradition earlier on Friday, but his high-profile barrister, Bret Walker SC, told the court they would not be making any argument in the hearing to fight the 55-year-old's eligibility for surrender.

"I am submitting there are no arguments that I can properly put against the way in which our friend's written reply dealt with the written response on behalf of Mr Duggan," Mr Walker said.

Mr Duggan now has 15 days to appeal for review.

Speaking outside court after the ruling, Mr Duggan's wife, Saffrine, said her husband still denies all the allegations and called for the attorney general to "take another look at this case and bring my husband home".

His daughter Molly added that the decision was essentially a "death sentence".

"I'm mainly concerned about my three younger siblings who as a result of that will grow up without a father, which is just a horrible alienating thing to do," she said.

The ruling does not initiate Mr Duggan's transfer to the US because the federal Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus KC, must now decide whether the surrender should proceed.

According to the Extradition Act, there is no set time frame for the attorney- general to make this decision following a magistrate's ruling, but the act states a decision should be made as soon as practical.

That decision can also be appealed for review by the Federal Court.

In a statement provided to the ABC, a spokesperson for the attorney general said the government does not comment on extradition matters.

Mr Duggan sat calmly in the dock behind a glass panel, smiling and waving to his family and supporters in court.

At one point he mouthed "I love you" to his wife and blew her a kiss.

He also made a heart shape with his hands.

A petition calling for the Australian government to release Mr Duggan has received 25,000 signatures.

Supporters gather outside court

Before the hearing began, Mr Duggan's wife, children and supporters gathered outside court calling for his immediate release.

Friday's ruling comes after Mr Duggan failed to delay his extradition hearing last month, claiming he had already spent up to $800,000 in legal fees and couldn't fund his future defence after his wife was prevented from selling their multi-million-dollar estate near Kiama in October

Mr Duggan faces US charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering.

He faces up to 65 years in jail if found guilty.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-24/nsw-ex-pilot-loses-legal-battle-for-surrender-to-us/103890232

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRiVQzd9pWk

#20909180 at 2024-05-24 15:30:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20909138
Ex-US Marines fighter pilot loses bid to block extradition to the United States over China training allegations

Hilary Whiteman - May 24, 2024

Brisbane, Australia (CNN) - The fate of former US Marines pilot Daniel Duggan now rests with Australia's attorney general after a magistrate ruled he was eligible to be extradited to the United States to face charges related to the alleged training of Chinese military pilots.

After a short hearing on Friday, Magistrate Daniel Reiss found that Duggan met the conditions for extradition and ordered him to be moved to prison while lawyers for the US wait for Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to approve his removal.

Duggan has 15 days to seek a review of the order, which comes 19 months after his arrest in rural New South Wales, just weeks after returning from China to join his family in Australia.

Duggan's wife Saffrine stood outside court with their six children, as she appealed to the Australian authorities to intervene.

"We are absolutely heartbroken and still don't understand how this could be happening to us," she said as supporters held up signs saying "Free Dan Duggan."

"My husband is a good man, a great father, a wonderful friend and husband. He faces no Australian charges and has no criminal background whatsoever. Yet he is locked up by the say-so of the United States government," she added.

She described Friday's hearing as "simply about ticking boxes."

"Now, we respectfully ask the attorney general to take another look at this case and bring my husband home."

A 2017 indictment alleges Duggan trained Chinese military pilots between November 2009 and November 2012, when he was still a US citizen. Duggan met his Australian wife in 2011 and took Australian citizenship the following year.

The indictment said that "as early as 2008," Duggan received an email from the US State Department telling him he was required to register with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and apply for permission to train a foreign air force.

Instead, it claims he conspired with others - including the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) - to export defense services in violation of an arms embargo on China.

In a statement to CNN in 2023, TFASA said it complies with the laws of every jurisdiction in which it operates.

The statement said Duggan undertook one test-pilot contract for the company in South Africa between November and December 2012, and "never worked for TFASA on any of its training mandates in China."

Duggan maintains the students he trained were Chinese civilians, including plane enthusiasts and people with ambitions within the civilian aviation industry.

His supporters believe he's been caught up in geopolitics during a time of strained relations between the United States and China and have accused authorities of using him to send a message to former military personnel.

Friday's hearing at Downing Centre Local Court was delayed for almost an hour due to protests that required the proceedings to be moved to a smaller courtroom that became so crowded that some members of the public sat on the floor.

Further delays occurred after Reiss asked the floor-sitters to leave the room, warning that anyone who didn't "hold their tongue" could be prosecuted for contempt of court.

A spokesperson for the Australian attorney general said the government doesn't comment on extradition matters.

Under Australia's Extradition Act, Duggan is entitled to appeal directly to the attorney general as to why he shouldn't be sent to the US.

There is no set time period for the attorney general to make a decision, but by law it should be made as soon as practicable.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/24/australia/Daniel-Duggan-us-extradition-hearing-intl-hnk/index.html

#20909164 at 2024-05-24 15:24:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20909138
Daniel Duggan case: 'Mr Duggan is eligible for surrender' over Chinese fighter pilots training claims

CLAREESE PACKER and ADELAIDE LANG - MAY 24, 2024

1/2

A former US marine pilot who has been accused of unlawfully training Chinese fighter pilots has been deemed eligible for extradition to the US after his lawyers conceded they have no legal grounds to fight the request.

Daniel Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 over charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering after the US requested he be extradited.

US authorities allege Duggan breached money laundering and arms export control laws while teaching foreign pilots at a flying academy in South Africa more than 12 years ago.

They also claim Duggan taught pilots - including Chinese citizens - how to land atop an aircraft carrier, and therefore breached US arms control laws. Duggan was allegedly paid more than $110,000 for his expertise but he had not sought the government's permission to undertake the role.

Magistrate Daniel Reiss confirmed Duggan is eligible for extradition on Friday afternoon, with the final decision to be handed down by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

"Section 19 of the criteria have been met and Mr Duggan is eligible for surrender in relation to the counts particularised," he said.

"(I) hereby order the relevant police to commit Daniel Edmund Duggan to a correctional facility in the state of NSW to await in relation to the particularised offences."

Duggan will have 15 days to appeal for review, Mr Reiss said.

Lawyers for Duggan asked that he be taken to a Lithgow facility.

"I merge to seek an expression from yourself to have Mr Duggan return to Lithgow closer to his family. If your honour would lend your words to that issue he'd be grateful," Bernard Colleary said.

Mr Reiss replied he has "limited involvement or powers in those matters".

Mr Colleary indicated Duggan will continue to fight the extradition speaking outside court after proceedings on Friday afternoon.

However, when asked if he will be seeking a review of the order, Mr Colleary said: "No, not the section 19 of it".

Mr Colleary emphasised Friday's proceedings was an administrative hearing rather than a judicial hearing, and said Mr Duggan is "equally determined" to defend his cause.

It comes after high-profile silk Bret Walker SC, representing Duggan, earlier said: "The arguments advanced in writing can't be maintained".

"I'm submitting there are no arguments I can properly put against the way our friends written reply dealt with the written response on behalf of Mr Duggan," he said. "I hope that's clear enough, Your Honour."

Mr Reiss adjourned the court until 2pm Friday afternoon to come to a decision.

"In the current circumstances, I can finalise, at this stage today ... given the position now being adopted on behalf of Mr Duggan, (it has) streamlined the considerations significantly," he said.

(continued)

#20909138 at 2024-05-24 15:15:28 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20886418
>>20909118
Daniel Duggan loses fight against extradition to US over allegedly training Chinese pilots, magistrate rules

Australian former US marine pilot faces potential prison sentence of up to 60 years on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering.

Ben Doherty - 24 May 2024

Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen and former US marine pilot wanted in the United States over allegations he trained Chinese fighter pilots, is eligible to be extradited, a Sydney magistrate has ruled. .

Duggan appeared in court for the first time since his arrest 19 months ago, dressed in a grey suit jacket, white shirt and blue tie. From behind the security glass of the dock he blew kisses to his family and supporters, and made a love-heart symbol towards his wife, Saffrine, mouthing the words "I love you".

The magistrate, Daniel Reiss, told the court Duggan was "eligible for surrender" to the US and ordered that he be committed to prison.

Duggan has 15 days to seek a review in the federal court. The extradition process, which involves several levels of review and appeal before a final decision by the attorney general, could remain before Australian authorities for years.

The US is seeking the extradition of Duggan, 55, on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago. The allegations have not been tested in court.

A US indictment alleges he taught Chinese fighter pilots to land jets on aircraft carriers - known as "carrier-arrested landings" - in defiance of arms trafficking laws. The indictment details payments Duggan allegedly received in 2011 and 2012 for training Chinese fighter pilots at a test flight academy "based in South Africa, with a presence in the People's Republic of China".

The father of six - whose children are aged between six and 18 and are all Australian citizens - faces a potential 60-year prison term if convicted in the US.

Duggan, who has no criminal history anywhere in the world, has faced significant isolation in prison, having been classified as a high-risk inmate. He has consistently denied the allegations against him as politically motivated, and has claimed the indictment is filled with "half-truths, falsehoods and gross embellishments".

In his formal decision, Reiss wrote: "Mr Duggan has not pressed any extradition objections and has not tendered any documentation that might support any such objection.

"Mr Duggan has not satisfied the court that there are substantial grounds for believing that there is an extradition objection in relation to the offences.

"I therefore conclude that Mr Duggan is eligible for extradition to the USA."

The extradition hearing was chaotic, even shambolic. The courtroom was moved twice before proceedings started well over an hour late, after dozens of observers had been expelled from the court.

Before the hearing began, the magistrate expelled any observers without a seat, leading to protests from the floor, saying: "We demand a bigger court," and, "This is an important case for Australia."

The magistrate was implacable and did not start the hearing until dozens of Duggan's supporters had been ushered out. One remained by hiding behind a pillar, unseen by the magistrate.

A protester then repeatedly yelled that the magistrate was running a "kangaroo court" and that the hearing was in defiance of the Magna Carta.

Threatened with contempt by Reiss, the man told the bench: "You're the one in contempt." He left before sheriffs arrived to expel him.

Saffrine Duggan spoke outside the Downing Centre court after the magistrate's decision. She said the order "was simply about ticking boxes". Her husband "had always denied the allegations", she said, and would continue to fight the charges.

"We want my husband to come home here in Australia," she said.

Saffrine Duggan added that the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, had the power to defy the US extradition request and to release her husband.

"We respectfully ask the attorney general to take another look at this case, and to bring my husband home."

Duggan's daughter Molly told supporters her father's arrest and imprisonment had left the family "in a constant state of crisis and turmoil".

"Dad is going through a horrible, alienating, dehumanising experience. He may never be the same."

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/24/Daniel-Duggan-extradition-us-allegedly-training-chinese-pilots-trafficking-money-laundering

#20909118 at 2024-05-24 15:07:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20886418
Ex-pilot has 'no arguments' to make against extradition

Jack Gramenz and Miklos Bolza - May 24 2024

An ex-US fighter pilot's lawyers have conceded they have no case to mount against his extradition as he faces prosecution in the US on allegations of unlawfully aiding the Chinese military.

Former top gun Daniel Duggan has spent 19 months in a maximum-security prison before Friday's hearing in a Sydney court on the US extradition order.

Magistrate Daniel Reiss will deliver a decision on his eligibility for extradition on Friday afternoon after barrister Bret Walker SC told a court Duggan could not legally mount a defence.

Asked by the magistrate if Friday's hearing would be contested, Mr Walker told the court: "Not really, no."

There was no argument to written material provided by lawyers for the US, he added.

The magistrate can order Duggan to stay in custody to await extradition, an order he can appeal for review within 15 days, lawyer Trent Glover, acting for the US, told the court.

Mr Reiss noted that the position from Duggan's lawyers had "streamlined the considerations significantly".

The 55-year-old was arrested in Australia at the behest of the US after being accused of breaching arms-trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012, allegedly receiving about $100,000 for his services.

Duggan's wife, children and supporters had gathered outside Downing Centre Local Court before the extradition hearing to call for his freedom.

"This deliberate torture has to stop today," Saffrine Duggan said.

Her husband has been kept in a maximum-security prison in solitary confinement, preparing his defence with handwritten notes, while her house has been seized and applications for Legal Aid were rejected, she said.

"They have done everything in their power to make this difficult for my family, to try and break Dan and to break us, but we will fight no matter what," she said.

Ms Duggan again called on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to release her husband.

"He has the power to free Dan … Australians won't stand for the US threatening our sovereignty, this is Australia, we are Australian citizens," she said.

Duggan blew kisses and made heart gestures from the dock as the courtroom filled with supporters on Friday, some of whom were reminded about laws regarding contempt.

Some remained seated on the floor of the packed courtroom, while one man accused the magistrate of presiding over a "kangaroo court".

The ex-pilot and his family argue the charges are politically motivated given the deterioration of Sino-American relations and how long ago the alleged actions occurred.

In April, he failed in a court bid to postpone the hearing after claiming he had racked up $800,000 in legal bills and was unable to fund his future defence.

In a prison letter seen by AAP, Duggan said he believed his activities were lawful and that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the US Naval Central Intelligence Service knew of his work.

Ms Duggan has presented a petition with 25,000 signatures to politicians in Canberra, calling on Mr Dreyfus to release her husband and end his extradition.

Greens Senator David Shoebridge said he would table the petition in parliament.

"Our government should show some guts, our government should make it clear that being an Australian citizen matters, and that when another country comes for you, they'll protect you as best they can … but we've seen none of that," he said.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8639520/ex-pilot-has-no-arguments-to-make-against-extradition/

#20903682 at 2024-05-23 10:55:58 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20886418
Man accused of training Chinese pilots airs ASIO claims

Dominic Giannini and Kat Wong - May 23 2024

A former fighter pilot accused of aiding China's military will claim Australia's intelligence agency knew about his actions and tried to bring him on board as a spy.

Daniel Duggan, 55, has spent 17 months in a maximum-security prison as he fights a US extradition order.

He was arrested in Australia at the behest of the US after being accused of breaching American arms trafficking laws by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

He received about $100,000 for his services, US lawyers said as they were successful in a bid to freeze the sale of his house after they argued the cash was illegally gained and could be frozen.

The former US top gun stands accused of training the Chinese military to land on aircraft carriers. He renounced his US citizenship in 2012 and became an Australian citizen in the same year.

Duggan and his family argue the charges are politically motivated given the deterioration of the Sino-American relationship and how long ago the alleged actions occurred.

In a letter from prison, seen by AAP, Duggan said he believed his activities weren't illegal and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the US Naval Central Intelligence Service (NCIS) knew of his work.

"Neither ASIO or NCIS made any claim or gave any warning that the activity was considered illegal," he wrote.

When he offered not to return to South Africa or China to intelligence agents, he said they were "indifferent" about his work and told him they didn't want to interfere with his business in the region.

And it was ASIO agents who brought up being able to meet Chinese generals and the topic of intelligence in a 2012 interview, leading to him believe they were trying to recruit him as a spy, Duggan said.

ASIO said it was unable to comment because the matter was before the court.

Duggan's wife, Saffrine, presented a petition with 25,000 signatures to politicians in Canberra, calling on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to release her husband and end his extradition.

"We would like him to exercise his right as attorney-general to step in here and help an Australian citizen," she told AAP.

Mr Dreyfus declined to comment.

Duggan's imprisonment has also impacted his six kids, with Australian Paediatric Society vice president Paul Anthony Bauert expressing serious concerns.

The children exhibited "unmistakeable signs of stress and severe anxiety," Dr Bauert wrote in a separate letter.

"The single important cause in these children's deteriorating health is the separation from and uncertainty for their father's future."

Duggan's case returns to court in Sydney on Friday.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8638124/man-accused-of-training-chinese-pilots-airs-asio-claims/

#20886418 at 2024-05-19 09:25:01 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20676473 (pb)
Former US fighter pilot accused of giving military secrets to China

60 Minutes Australia

May 12, 2024

A former US Marine fighter pilot and current Australian citizen is facing extradition to America, accused of sharing military secrets with China.

Who is the real Daniel Duggan? It's a simple question, but the answer is highly contested and has enormous consequences. For his family and a large group of supporters, he's a hero. A former US Marine fighter pilot turned proud Australian citizen; a loving husband and devoted dad. For others though, namely the United States government, he's a traitor, accused of supplying China with top-secret military information. For the past 19 months, Duggan has been sitting in Australian prisons fighting attempts to send him back to the United States. As Dimity Clancey reports, a decision about his extradition is expected within weeks, but if the Americans get a hold of him and can prove the allegations, he faces up to 65 more years locked up. It's a thought his wife Saffrine and six children are struggling to comprehend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTi7Lw6wTXU

#20886356 at 2024-05-19 08:40:53 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#35 - Part 80
Australia / China Tensions - Part 15
>>20841268 Beijing's bullying needs to be called out, loud and clear - "Defence Minister Richard Marles was absolutely right to call out China publicly for the "unsafe and unprofessional interaction" in which a People's Liberation Army jet dropped flares in the flight path of an Australian helicopter operating off the air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart in international waters near the Korean Peninsula. China's action could have downed the helicopter if the flares had damaged rotor blades or been ingested by the engine. This follows an incident last November when two divers from the frigate HMAS Toowoomba were injured by a Chinese use of a sonar system. Both ships were enforcing internationally agreed sanctions against North Korea and looking to prevent the north from exporting weapons by sea. Apart from the risk to Australian Defence Force people and platforms it is noteworthy that China is aggressively undermining sanctions enforcement against North Korea -- now a major supplier of artillery ammunition to Russia for use in Ukraine. That should lend extra weight to the strength of Australian protests against Beijing's bad behaviour. It may be unsafe and unprofessional but you can be certain these military actions, in a strategic if not tactical sense, are centrally directed from the top in Beijing. China's military leaders are seeking to push the military forces of all other countries (bar Russia and North Korea) as far away as possible from their claimed territories." - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au
>>20841340 Video: SNEAK PEEK: Daniel Duggan - Hero or traitor? - Hero or traitor? SUNDAY on #60Mins, why an Australian citizen, a former Top Gun fighter pilot, is wanted by the United States government. - 60 Minutes Australia

>>20859919 Former spy for China's secret police reveals operations targeting dissidents in Australia and overseas - The inner workings of China's notorious secret police unit and how it hunts down dissidents living overseas - including in Australia - have been exposed by a former spy in a Four Corners investigation, raising tough questions about Australia's national security. It is the first time anyone from the secret police - one of the most feared and powerful arms of China's intelligence apparatus - has ever spoken publicly. The investigation also found the existence of an espionage operation on Australian soil only last year and the secret return of an Australian resident to China in 2019. The spy - who goes by the name Eric - worked as an undercover agent for a unit within China's federal police and security agency, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) between 2008 and early 2023. The unit is called the Political Security Protection Bureau, or the 1st Bureau. It is one of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) key tools of repression, operating across the globe to surveil, kidnap and silence critics of the party, particularly President Xi Jinping. "It is the darkest department of the Chinese government," Eric said. "When dealing with people who oppose the CCP, they can behave as if these people are not protected by the law. They can do whatever they want to them."
>>20859967 Video: Daniel Duggan - Why is a former fighter pilot wanted by the US government? - To his family, Daniel Duggan is a hero, but in the eyes of the US Government, he's a traitor. "One man against the US, it's disgraceful," Daniel's wife Saffrine told 60 Minutes. For 19 months, the former US Marine fighter pilot turned proud Australian citizen has been sitting in maximum security jail, accused of sharing top secret military information with China. But that's nothing compared to the 65 years he could be locked up for, if the Americans get a hold of him and prove the father-of-six sold them out. "It's a death sentence for my husband," Saffrine said. "We will never see him again and my kids will never grow up with a father."

#20886347 at 2024-05-19 08:38:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#35 - Part 72
Australia / China Tensions - Part 7
>>20676473 Top Gun pilot Daniel Duggan to face extradition hearing in May - A former US marine pilot will have one last chance to prove he shouldn't be extradited to the US over allegations he illegally trained Chinese pilots - but he's run out of funds to pay for a lawyer. Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 following a request from the US to extradite him for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering. American authorities allege the 55-year-old breached money laundering and arms export control laws while teaching foreign pilots at a flying academy in South Africa more than 12 years ago. On Thursday, he looked anxious as he beamed into court from maximum security prison wearing black rimmed glasses and a green prison-issued jumper. He then became visibly upset as Magistrate Daniel Reiss denied his application for an extension to prepare for a hearing to determine his eligibility for extradition to the US. The magistrate found he had been given "a reasonable amount of time" and a "reasonable opportunity" to prepare for the crucial hearing.
>>20695591 Australian-Taiwan partnership good for regional peace: Visiting lawmakers - A visiting Australian parliamentary delegation said in Taipei Monday that building stronger ties with Taiwan, including on security cooperation, is beneficial to peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. "We face a military buildup in this region," Shayne Neumann, a member of the Australian ruling Labor Party, told President Tsai Ing-wen during their meeting at the Presidential Office. The chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade in Australia's House of Representatives said his country is working with friends and allies "to preserve the regional balance here and preserve the status quo for Taiwan" "We're against any unilateral actions; maintaining the status quo is comprehensively superior to the alternative," he told Tsai.

>>20700815 Quad mire: ALP warned on China by former Japanese envoy - Former Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami says Anthony Albanese has allowed "the Quad" security dialogue to languish as he repairs ties with Beijing, and has revealed Labor sought to ?silence his criticisms of China when he was Tokyo's top diplomat in Canberra. Writing in The Australian, Mr Yamagami laments Australia's reluctance now to speak out against Beijing, accusing the ?government of staging photo ?opportunities with Chinese ?officials "while guns are being pointed at your head". He says the weakening of the Quad - the key Indo-Pacific power grouping that includes Australia, the US, Japan and India - has undermined co-ordination by member nations on the common threat posed by China.
>>20700829 Distracted Quad leaders must refocus on bullies in Beijing - '"The world's eyes, a few short years ago, were focused on Australia, when it stood tall under tremendous diplomatic pressure and economic coercion by the Middle Kingdom. It is no exaggeration to say Australia gained a prominent international status through its resilience and principled approach. That is the Australia I admired and respected. The emphasis on "stabilising" relations with China is fine, but stabilisation should not mean staging photo opportunities or smiling and shaking hands with China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, while guns are being pointed at your head - as they are in the South China Sea. Australia's role is vital. When America's most intimate Indo-Pacific ally (Australia) and its important Indo-Pacific ally (Japan) speak from a common position, the Americans are inclined to listen. I am now a private citizen but, as a long-time servant of the Japanese state and a recent ambassador to Australia, I feel compelled to plead that this common position be adopted and pressed energetically upon Washington - and Delhi."'' - Shingo Yamagami, Japan's ambassador plenipotentiary to Australia from 2021-23 - theaustralian.com.au

#20545732 at 2024-03-10 09:33:05 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

#34 - Part 39
Australia / China Tensions - Part 1
>>20093285 Philippines To Grant Japan Access to Military Bases - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said tensions in the South China Sea have "increased rather than diminished" in recent months, warning that a "more assertive China" posed a "real challenge" to its Asian neighbours.
>>20098451 Chinese-Australian businessman Sunny Duong found guilty of seeking to influence former minister Alan Tudge.
>>20098559 Daniel Duggan asks to be released from jail and detained at home as he fights extradition to US - An Australian pilot accused of accepting money to illegally train Chinese military personnel has denied he is a flight risk and described himself as a model prisoner in a formal request to be released into home detention.
>>20152593 With his predecessors still missing from public view, Dong Jun is named as China's defence minister - China has named former navy chief Dong Jun as its new defence minister, replacing previous defence minister Li Shangfu, who disappeared from public view four months ago.
>>20224535 TikTok 'name and shame' threat over tracking code - Chinese-owned social media giant TikTok has accused the Coalition of waging a war against its users after opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson threatened to name and shame Australian companies who use the platform's data-tracking code.
>>20231077 Video: PNG warned to protect Chinese citizens - China has demanded Papua New Guinea protect its citizens and their property after Chinese-owned shops were looted and torched during violent riots in PNG's biggest cities that claimed the lives of 16 people.
>>20231122 Australia warned over Taiwan support by China - China has issued an extraordinary warning to Australia on the eve of Taiwan's presidential election, saying that any "miscalculations" in Canberra's ties with the next Taiwanese government would see the Australian people "pushed over the edge of an abyss".

>>20231153 'Australian people pushed over abyss': China's warning - "It is illogical and harmful to link China's internal affairs with Australia's security and safety. If Australia is tied to the chariot of Taiwan separatist forces, the Australian people would be pushed over the edge of an abyss." - Xiao Qian, Chinese Ambassador to Australia - theaustralian.com.au
>>20240914 Taiwan defies Beijing and elects 'troublemaker' Lai as president - Taiwanese voters have given the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) an unprecedented third term as president, delivering a historic win to William Lai in defiance of stark warnings from Beijing that electing him could trigger war.
>>20240924 Taiwanese people deliver a giant vote for Beijing's humiliation - "William Lai's presidential election triumph in Taiwan represents a humiliation for Beijing, a strong refusal by the people of Taiwan to be bulled, a harbinger of increased strategic danger in northern Asia and both a wake-up call and a challenge for the Albanese government." - Greg Sherridan - theaustralian.com.au
>>20244531 Canberra calls for calm in Beijing after Taiwan elects Lai - Australia has urged Xi Jinping's government to restrain from any dangerous military activities after William Lai, the candidate Beijing openly loathes, won the weekend's presidential election in Taiwan.
>>20251115 Beijing warns Taipei of 'harsh 'punishment' after Lai win - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned that any steps towards Taiwan's independence would be "harshly punished", as a senior US delegation arrived in Taipei to help president-elect William Lai navigate the tense five-month period before his inauguration.
>>20251127 Nauru severs ties with Taiwan, switches diplomatic allegiance to China - Nauru has switched its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China, securing a major diplomatic coup for Beijing just 48 hours after Taiwan elected its rival in a presidential election. Nauru President David Adeang said on Monday evening (AEDT) that the Pacific island would no longer recognise Taiwan as a separate country and that it was an inalienable part of China's territory.
>>20256878 Nauru asked for cash help, Taiwan says - Taiwan says Nauru requested a large amount of economic aid ?before its diplomatic switch to recognise China to cover the ?financial gap left by the mothballing of Australia's offshore immigration processing facility.
>>20256895 Video: China warns Australia to 'stop making trouble on our doorstep' - Beijing has demanded Australia stop meddling in its affairs by staying away from its maritime borders and refraining from commentary on Taiwan's elections as Chinese President Xi Jinping considers an invitation to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Australia this year.

#20525312 at 2024-03-06 08:46:40 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20098559
>>20510160
'Veil of secrecy' over incarcerated Top Gun pilot Daniel Duggan

ADELAIDE LANG - MARCH 6, 2024

The wife of a former US marine pilot incarcerated in a maximum-security prison for 500 days says her family is "heartbroken" by his treatment at the hands of the Australian government.

Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 after the US indicated it would seek his extradition for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering.

Mr Duggan is fighting extradition to his home country over allegations he illegally trained Chinese pilots.

American authorities allege the 54-year-old breached money laundering and arms export control laws while teaching foreign pilots at an international flying academy more than 12 years ago.

He is also accused of breaching US arms control laws by instructing pilots, including Chinese nationals, on how to land atop an aircraft carrier.

The US authorities allege he was paid more than $110,000 for his expertise but had not sought US approval to teach foreign pilots.

Mr Duggan has consistently denied the allegations, which have not been tested in court.

Standing outside Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, Mr Duggan's wife Saffrine said her husband was "suffering terribly".

"Every day, I ask myself how can this be happening to my family?" she said. "He is suffering terribly and so are we."

She said there was a "veil of secrecy" over her husband's "inhumane incarceration" and called for an end to the "skull and dagger skulduggery".

Magistrate Daniel Reiss told the court that Mr Duggan's legal bill for fighting extradition was "approaching a million dollars already".

The court was told the former fighter pilot had made an application for Legal Aid, which provides legal assistance and funding for people without the means to pay for it themselves.

Mr Reiss noted it was unusual to see an application partway through proceedings for Legal Aid "to pick up the tab".

The court was told Mr Duggan's home was subjected to a freezing order in December last year that prohibits the family from selling the asset to pay his legal fees.

The order was made at the request of the US authorities, who claim the NSW south coast property was bought with the proceeds of Mr Duggan's alleged crimes.

Mr Duggan's lawyer Jolan Draaisma said Legal Aid had asked for more information about the case in order to determine whether her client should receive funding.

She told the court a decision would be made in the next three months.

The US government's lawyer Trent Glover objected to Ms Draaisma's request for the matter to be adjourned to allow her client to obtain funding.

Mr Duggan will return to court in April for an argument about a further adjournment.

The Duggan family's lawyer Howard Adams told reporters the US government had forced Mr Duggan to apply for legal aid and was now "bizarrely" blocking his path.

"If the matter is delayed, the only person that's really going to suffer any prejudice is Dan Duggan," he said outside court.

"As you can imagine, he's feeling an immense amount of frustration about what's going on at the moment."

A magistrate in the local court will determine whether Mr Duggan is legally eligible for surrender to the US, but the ultimate decision will fall to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

Mr Duggan had been held in isolation at a maximum-security prison for almost 500 days "without local charges, convictions or criminal background of any kind", his wife explained.

She highlighted the US government's freezing order on her home as an attempt "to try and cripple us and make it impossible for us to fight them".

Mr Duggan spent 12 years flying in the US Marines before he was honourably discharged in 2002. He subsequently moved to Australia with his family and relinquished his US citizenship.

The former operator of Top Gun Tasmania had been living in Orange, in central west NSW, with his wife and six children when he was arrested.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/top-gun-pilot-Daniel-Duggans-eyewatering-legal-bill/news-story/0c345a3de317ebb02ef1448971181ad9

#20520018 at 2024-03-05 09:15:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20098559
>>20510160
>>20520009
Spy agency hits out at 'misleading' claim about top gun

Luke Costin - 5 March 2024

ASIO has hit back as a "misleading" statement by an ex-fighter pilot's family that rebuffed claims by Australia's domestic spy chief concerning the former top gun.

Former US Air Force pilot Daniel Duggan has spent 16 months on remand as the Australian citizen fights extradition to the US over claims he trained Chinese pilots.

The circumstances leading to his arrest in regional NSW in October 2022 were subject to an inquiry by the spy watchdog after Mr Duggan raised ASIO's role in 10 matters.

In a discussion about oversight, ASIO Director General Mike Burgess said he welcomed the scrutiny of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, adding it offered an ability to defend his organisation given his spies could not speak publicly.

"It's been completed and all allegations unfounded," Mr Burgess told a Guardian Australia podcast published on Sunday.

"That's a great example of how oversight can help defend us."

But the Duggan family on Tuesday said a letter from the inspector-general acknowledged he had found impropriety.

"Additionally, to the elements of Mr Duggan's complaint as such, I found that that one activity did transcend the bounds of propriety in one respect, full details of which are set out in the classified report," the letter dated August 2023 to the pilot's lawyers said.

The legal team has however been unable to view the classified report as part of its extradition battle, the pilot's wife said.

"What happened to the concept fair go, when ASIO is allowed to use the media to whitewash its involvement in the case behind a veil of secrecy and classified reports," Saffine Duggan said.

"It's now time for the prime minister and attorney-general to prove the value of Australian citizenship and how much they will protect our nation's sovereignty when it comes to matters involving our most powerful ally."

The inspector-general declined to comment when contacted by AAP about the discrepancy between remarks by the Duggans and Mr Burgess.

After AAP approached ASIO, a spokeswoman accused the Duggans of issuing a misleading statement.

The inspector-general had dismissed all elements of Mr Duggan's complaint and did not identify any acts of illegality by ASIO, she said.

"IGIS (the inspector-general) found that ASIO did not use Mr Duggan's application for an Aviation Security Identification Card to 'lure' Mr Duggan back to Australia," she said.

"IGIS found that one ASIO activity raised a propriety issue, but this did not affect the IGIS's conclusion about the lawfulness of ASIO's activities.

"The IGIS report is unequivocal in its findings that ASIO acted both ethically and within the law at all times in matters regarding Daniel Duggan.

"Therefore, the statement from Mr Duggan's public relations company is misleading."

In the podcast interview, Mr Burgess said all Australians had the right to raise allegations with the inspector-general.

Duggan, who denies the US charges against him, will ask a Sydney court on Wednesday for more time to fight his extradition after applying for Legal Aid.

That came after a court upheld a freezing order over a multimillion-dollar property Ms Duggan had tried to sell to fund her husband's defence.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/spy-chiefs-unfounded-claim-top-032156533.html

#20520009 at 2024-03-05 09:09:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20098559
>>20510160
ASIO accused of 'whitewashing' role in detention of pilot facing extradition

Richard Wood - Mar 5, 2024

Australia's intelligence agency ASIO has been accused of "whitewashing" its role in the arrest and detention of former United States military pilot Daniel Duggan ahead of his latest court hearing tomorrow.

The Australian citizen has spent more than a year in New South Wales maximum security prisons while he fights extradition to the US on accusations of providing military training to Chinese pilots.

ASIO director-general of security Mike Burgess told the Guardian a secret report by the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) had found his agency did nothing wrong regarding Duggan's arrest in NSW on behalf of the US in October 2022.

But his supporters told 9news.com.au he has been refused access to the classified document, which resulted from a request by Duggan for IGIS - the ASIO regulator - to investigate the spy agency's role in 10 matters relating to his case.

They claim Burgess also failed to reveal that Duggan's legal team is in receipt of a letter from IGIS that said it has found some "improprieties" in ASIO's behaviour.

Duggan's supporters say these findings remain classified and unavailable to them and raise the question over whether he can get a fair extradition hearing.

If extradited, Duggan - a former US citizen - will face court on charges of violating and conspiring to violate arms control laws, conspiring to defraud the US government and money laundering.

In 2011 or 2012, he allegedly received either $116,000 or $166,000 for his role in a conspiracy to train Chinese pilots at a South African flight school.

Duggan, who became an Australian citizen in 2012, denies the charges and is fighting the extradition.

His family has appealed to the federal government for his immediate release.

"The continued cloak and dagger skulduggery has no place in a free country like Australia where we pride ourselves on transparent government and the right to a fair hearing in court," Duggan's wife Saffrine said.

"It's now time for the prime minister and attorney-general to prove the value of Australian citizenship and how much they will protect our nation's sovereignty when it comes to matters involving our most powerful ally

"What happened to the concept fair go, when ASIO is allowed to use the media to whitewash its involvement in the case behind a veil of secrecy and classified reports?"

Ms Duggan's plan to sell a property in NSW South Coast to fund her husband's legal defence was rejected by a court last December.

Her husband's lawyers will seek an extension at the NSW Local Court tomorrow due to the fact legal aid is now being sought.

Burgess' comments on the Duggan case come days after he made claims about a former Australian MP selling secrets to a foreign power.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/Daniel-Duggan-extradition-supporters-claim-asio-whitewashes-its-role/fef1d3d4-cf8f-413c-bd45-f98d4ddbbd75

#20510160 at 2024-03-03 08:47:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20493657
>>20098559
ASIO cleared of unlawfully luring Daniel Duggan back to Australia, agency chief Mike Burgess says

Exclusive: Duggan's legal team continues to fight US request for extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering

Daniel Hurst - 3 Mar 2024

1/2

The spy agency ASIO says it has been cleared by the intelligence watchdog of allegations of impropriety raised by the Australian citizen Daniel Duggan as he fights extradition to the US.

Duggan, a former US marines pilot accused of training Chinese pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers, had complained to the inspector general of intelligence and security (IGIS) about ASIO's role in securing his return to Australia from China.

His legal team had raised concerns an "unlawful lure" - in the form of an ASIO clearance for an Australian aviation security identification card - may have been used to entice Duggan back to Australia where he could be arrested on behalf of the US and extradited.

The ASIO chief, Mike Burgess, revealed the outcome of the months-long IGIS inquiry in an interview with Guardian Australia's Australian Politics podcast released on Sunday, while insisting "we support this oversight".

In the wide-ranging interview in the wake of his annual threat assessment speech, Burgess also offered to relinquish one of ASIO's powers to question children and he revealed how foreign spies were hiring private investigators to monitor dissidents in Australia.

Duggan's complaint to the IGIS about ASIO was just one element of his ongoing legal battle against extradition to the US.

"People do have a legal right to make complaints to the inspector general about what they think we've done," Burgess said.

"Mr Duggan - and I won't go into his case - has made allegations to the inspector general about my organisation. The inspector general conducted his own inquiry [with] full access to everything we did. He found all the allegations against us were unfounded."

Duggan, 55, a naturalised Australian, was arrested in October 2022 at the request of the US government, which is seeking his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering, arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago.

Duggan's legal team has maintained the US extradition request is politically motivated, catalysed by the US's deepening geopolitical contest with China, and the outcome of his legal challenge against the extradition has yet to be determined.

The independent IGIS was approached for comment on Friday, although its practice is not to comment on the outcome of complaints.

Burgess said the IGIS was "paramount as one of our oversight mechanisms with standing powers of a royal commission" and had "full access to everything ASIO does".

"There is nothing I, or any of my officers, can or would withhold from the inspector general."

(continued)

#20098559 at 2023-12-19 10:48:56 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20033314 (pb)
Daniel Duggan asks to be released from jail and detained at home as he fights extradition to US

Australian pilot accused of training Chinese military denies he is a flight risk in letter requesting NSW home detention

Catie McLeod - 19 Dec 2023

1/2

An Australian pilot accused of accepting money to illegally train Chinese military personnel has denied he is a flight risk and described himself as a model prisoner in a formal request to be released into home detention.

Daniel Duggan has written to the acting New South Wales corrections commissioner from Lithgow maximum security prison where he is being held in isolated custody while he fights extradition to the US.

Duggan, a former US marine who became an Australian citizen, has been charged with four offences in the US including conspiring to launder money and two counts of breaching arms trafficking laws.

The US alleges that Duggan said he hoped his children would be set for life after he committed to training Chinese naval pilots, court documents show.

He was allegedly paid between $116,000 and $188,000 to carry out the training in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

Duggan has consistently denied the allegations against him and labelled them politically motivated.

If convicted, he faces up to 60 years in a US prison. He has spent 14 months in prison in NSW since he was arrested in October 2022.

Guardian Australia understands Duggan requested to be separated from the general prison population out of concerns for his own safety. Duggan's team claims he was pressured into signing that request after he had already spent nearly a year in isolation.

In his letter to the acting NSW corrections commissioner, seen by Guardian Australia, Duggan stated he was "being punished as if I was convicted of some heinous crime".

"Of course, the main justification for granting a home detention order in my case is not really for me, it is for my children, wife and father-in-law who are under an enormous, unhealthy level of trauma and duress," he said.

"I humbly request that you exercise your authority to grant me home detention so I can assist my family with household chores, like cleaning, cooking, washing up, doing the laundry and jobs that are required on the farm."

Duggan said he had been trapped in a "continuous nightmare of segregated and isolated incarceration" since the Australian federal police arrested him on behalf of the US in his hometown of Orange in regional NSW in October last year.

"To those who irrationally suggest that I might be a flight risk and do not accept that the most valuable collateral of all are my six children, I submit that Australia ... is the safest place for me to be," he said.

(continued)

#20092869 at 2023-12-18 10:06:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

#33 - Part 33
Australia / China Tensions - Part 10
>>20022741 Widened AUKUS deal includes AI, space techs against China, triggering arms race fear - "Using the "China threat" as an excuse to build hegemony, the US, the UK and Australia are reportedly expanding their AUKUS military cooperation from nuclear-powered submarines to anti-submarine systems featuring drones and artificial intelligence (AI) as well as space tracking, all of which are sensitive fields that risk triggering an arms race, experts warned on Sunday." - Liu Xuanzun - globaltimes.cn
>>20033314 Former US pilot Daniel Duggan loses legal bid to stop forfeiture of home near Kiama - A former US marine pilot fighting extradition to America has lost his legal bid to stop the forfeiture of his family's property on the NSW south coast. Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen, is being held in a maximum-security jail west of Sydney, accused by the US of training Chinese military pilots. He faces US charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering, allegations he denies. Mr Duggan's wife, Saffrine, was trying to sell the family's multi-million-dollar estate at Saddleback Mountain, near Kiama, to fund his legal costs. But in October, a US judge ordered the restraint and forfeiture of the property, saying it "constitutes or is derived from" the proceeds of crime.
>>20033328 Daniel Duggan: wife 'devastated' as court blocks bid to sell NSW property to fund defence of pilot wanted in the US The wife of an Australian pilot wanted in the US over allegations he accepted lucrative contracts to illegally train Chinese naval pilots will not be able to sell her New South Wales property to fund his legal battle. Daniel Duggan is being held in prison in NSW while he fights extradition over charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering relating to allegations he accepted cash to train Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago. The NSW supreme court on Wednesday dismissed a bid by Duggan's lawyers to prevent the Australian federal police from seizing a multimillion-dollar property owned by his wife, Saffrine. Saffrine had put the "Bundaleer" acreage on the NSW south coast, where she and her husband were building a house, on the market to help pay his lawyers before the AFP applied to seize it on behalf of the US on 31 October.
>>20044050 China's Xi goes full Stalin with purge - "Something is rotten in the imperial court of Chairman Xi Jinping. While the world is distracted by war in the Middle East and Ukraine, a Stalin-like purge is sweeping through China's ultra-secretive political system, with profound implications for the global economy and even the prospects for peace in the region. The signals emanating from Beijing are unmistakable, even as China's security services have ramped up repression to totalitarian levels, making it almost impossible to know what is really happening inside the country. The unexplained disappearance and removal of China's foreign and defense ministers - both Xi loyalists who were handpicked and elevated mere months before they went missing earlier this year - are just two examples." - politico.eu

#20092867 at 2023-12-18 10:05:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

#33 - Part 32
Australia / China Tensions - Part 9
>>19984250 China paid this Australian influencer. He was told to pick a fight with Mack Horton - Australian swimmer Mack Horton had just won Olympic Gold in Rio de Janiero, but it was not enough to quell the anger inside him. "Drug cheat," he snipped at silver medallist Sun Yang, the Chinese swimmer who won in London four years earlier and was later suspended for eight years for a drug testing violation. Watching on was David Gulasi, an Australian living in China who had amassed 3.6 million followers on Chinese social media networks Bilibili, Douyin and Xigua for his mix of food blogging, toilet humour and Chinese nationalism. Gulasi's Chinese influencer-management agency, known as a multichannel network, advised Gulasi to pick a fight with Horton. It was 2016 and China's influencing machine was just warming up. "I feel ashamed to be of the same nationality as you," Gulasi said to Horton. "The Chinese need to stand up and stand up for their country." Dismissed by critics last decade as a naive, cantankerous novelty, Gulasi and a handful of Western social media stars were the first batch of content creators to ride a wave of Chinese nationalism that made them divisive at home and popular in Beijing.
>>19995418 Daniel Duggan: federal agent 'regrets' incorrect evidence in ex-US military pilot case, NSW court hears - Daniel Duggan's lawyer calls for restraining order on property to be thrown out due to 'unacceptable sequence of events'
>>19995429 Why Rudd rates this alternative to Biden - Kevin Rudd reckons California governor Gavin Newsom, the Democrats' putative second-choice candidate for the Oval Office next year, is equipped to negotiate the tricky relationship with China
>>20001916 Chinese diplomat's false claim on sonar blast - One of Beijing's top diplomats has called for Australian naval vessels to operate with "great prudence" in waters near China after a PLA Navy ship blasted Australian navy divers with its sonar in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The head of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, Liu Jianchao, claimed incorrectly on Tuesday that the November 14 sonar incident occurred in waters where there is "some kind of dispute between China and Japan". The claim came ahead of Mr Liu's scheduled meeting with Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Wednesday, and follows Anthony Albanese's refusal to say whether he raised the incident with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC conference. "My question would be, why should an Australian naval ship be travelling to that area?" Mr Liu told an Australia-China Relations Institute event. "China will have to do what it needs to do. But China did it in a very professional way. It did nothing that harms the sailors, the naval people or that ship."

>>20001920 Video: China diplomat lashes out at Australian Navy - One of China's top diplomats has lashed Australia's Navy for venturing into what he claims are contested waters in the South China Sea. Liu Jianchao also disputed claims that Australian divers were injured by a Chinese ship's underwater sonar, telling 9News that Australia should respect the "facts"
>>20001925 Prudence, wisdom from Canberra needed to sustain China-Australia relations thaw - "Australia should not assume it can freely create trouble near China. China poses no threat to Australia's national security, but Australia does by intruding into the South China Sea. If Australia continues its provocations and escalates the situation, there is a possibility of friction and conflict between China and Australia." - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>20001932 China, Australia should be 'cautious of destructive forces' as ties improve - "When China and Australia strive to stabilize and reinvigorate their relations, there are people inside Australia and external forces that do not want the trend to continue,...both Australia and China should cherish the hard-won momentum and be cautious of destructive forces." - Zhang Han - globaltimes.cn
>>20013157 Video: AUKUS partners unveil new space and AI weapons to deal with China's military aggression - The AUKUS partners have seized the "need for speed" to combat China's military aggression, unveiling plans to launch autonomous undersea vehicles from submarine torpedo tubes, detect enemy submarines with artificial intelligence, and track deep space threats with advanced radars

#20092866 at 2023-12-18 10:05:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

#33 - Part 31
Australia / China Tensions - Part 8
>>19951999 Video: 'Dangerous and unprofessional': Anthony Albanese addresses sonar naval incident - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the incident involving the use of sonar technology by a Chinese ship against Australian naval divers was "dangerous" and "unprofessional". Mr Albanese said he addressed the situation with Chinese President Xi Jinping but said it's not his policy to detail private discussions with world leaders
>>19952003 China urges Australia against 'irresponsible accusations' over naval sonar claim
>>19952006 Chinese Defense Ministry rebuts Australia's claims about recent warship interaction - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>19952022 China rejects Australia's claims of 'unsafe and unprofessional' warship encounter - Huang Panyue - mod.gov.cn
>>19952029 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on November 20, 2023 - "The Chinese military is strictly disciplined and always operates professionally in accordance with the international law and international common practices. We hope relevant parties will stop making trouble in front of China's doorsteps and work with China to preserve the momentum of improving and growing China-Australia ties."
>>19952040 Alan Tudge 'wanted to help Chinese' - Ex-federal minister Alan Tudge believed a $37,000 hospital donation from Sunny Duong - accused of having Chinese Communist Party ties - was an "opportunity" to counter negativity towards Chinese people during the pandemic
>>19946745 US tries to halt Australian property sale by ex-marine's wife - Greens Senator David Shoebridge has questioned if federal police are "just a post box for US authorities" as America attempts to stop the wife of detained ex-military pilot Daniel Duggan selling property to fund his legal bills

>>19952049 Daniel Duggan: US court blocking sale of south coast home owned by Aussie ex-marine wanted for conspiracy - The former US Marine Corps aviator allegedly trained Chinese military pilots while working at an international flying academy more than 10 years ago
>>19964102 China gives Australia both wealth and anxiety: Marles - Defence Minister Richard Marles has described China as a source of both national wealth and anxiety, as the opposition demanded Anthony Albanese apologise for not raising with President Xi Jinping last week's incident between the Australian and Chinese navies
>>19964116 GT Voice: India shouldn't let Australia derail cooperation with China - "It was really clumsy and unnecessary for Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles to try to strengthen Australia's ties with India by sowing discord between China and India. During his visit to India this week, Marles on Monday described China as a source of both national wealth and anxiety, according to both Indian and Australian media reports. "For both of us, China is our biggest trading partner. For both of us, China is our biggest security anxiety," he said." - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>19970103 'We won't be intimidated': Australian warship sails through sensitive Taiwan Strait - The Australian warship involved in a dangerous sonar incident with China last week has passed through sensitive waters in the Taiwan Strait while being accompanied by Taiwan's military. Defence experts said the transit by HMAS Toowoomba, while unlikely to be a direct response to the sonar incident, would send a message to Beijing that Australia would not be deterred from promoting freedom of navigation in international waters. The warship's passage through the Taiwan Strait was revealed by Taiwan's Ministry of Defence, raising the profile of a military exercise that would otherwise have been kept secret.
>>19970144 AFP attempt to freeze sale of mansion for US in case of Daniel Duggan is 'lapdog diplomacy', lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz says
>>19970160 US pilot facing extradition drops request for key files - Lawyers for a former pilot battling extradition to the US have dropped an attempt to access key defence and intelligence reports they have said would aid their client's case. Daniel Duggan, an Australian father of six and former US citizen, was arrested at a supermarket car park in central-west NSW in October 2022 after a request from US authorities. In October, his legal team flagged an application to seek key documents from the Department of Defence and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security to demonstrate the extradition request was based on political offences.
>>19973725 Australia and Philippines launch joint patrols in South China Sea - Australia and the Philippines have begun long-awaited joint naval patrols in the South China Sea after months of intensifying friction in the contested waterway.

#19822228 at 2023-10-29 05:36:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#32 - Part 95
Australia / China Tensions - Part 11
>>19785789 Albanese government has failed strategic test in northern Australia - "Yet another review has defended the absurd 2015 Northern Territory decision to lease the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company for 99 years. The review released by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet last Friday points to a "robust regulatory system in place to manage risks to critical infrastructure". The bigger picture is clear: China is becoming militarily aggressive in our region. Since the lease of the Port of Darwin, Beijing illegally took over disputed territory in the South China Sea, building new military air bases and sea ports. Chinese military power projects much further south to the Indonesian archipelago. Routine Chinese air and naval patrols and intelligence-gathering ships now operate in Australian waters. The Albanese government should have overturned the lease because we, and our key ally, the US, need that facility to expand and secure a larger military presence in the north. Albanese is not moving on the urgent work needed to strengthen our security in the north for the sake of promoting a content-free trip to Beijing to mark Gough Whitlam's 1973 visit. China will not offer any concession on its military growth, threatening Taiwan or bullying neighbours. Publicly, the Chinese will afford Albanese every opportunity to indulge his hero worship of Whitlam's visit half a century ago. The Chinese know how to gull foreign leaders - recall Emmanuel Macron's fawning performance of a few months ago. The risk for Albanese is that the visit will make him look weaker on China in Australia by celebrating small concessions in trade and ignoring the big strategic changes sweeping the world." - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au
>>19785888 Former US fighter pilot Daniel Duggan in 'existential fight' one year on - A former top gun fighting an extradition bid by the US will spend at least six more months in possible solitary confinement in a NSW maximum security prison, as his wife urges the Prime Minister to oppose the handover request during his visit t0 Washington. Downing Centre Local Court heard a date for Daniel Edmund Duggan's extradition hearing was set for May next year, with his lawyer Dennis Miralis saying that further time in custody was necessary if they were to successfully fight the potential 65-year maximum-security prison term he faced if extradited to the US. The court heard Mr Duggan would make an application late next month to access a Department of Defence report which deals with Australian Defence Force members allegedly providing military services to China. Mr Miralis said that material was "critical" to his client's ability to properly and successfully defend himself, and demonstrated the "political nature" of the US extradition request. His legal team are also hoping to get their hands on 430 documents from the AFP later this month which include communications between ASIO, the Department of Justice, the AFP and the FBI around their investigation of Mr Duggan.
>>19792379 Video: Microsoft to help Australia build 'cyber shield', Anthony Albanese announces in Washington - Tech giant Microsoft will help Australia build a "cyber shield" to fend off global online threats under a plan to sink billions of dollars into securing and expanding the national digital economy. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Microsoft president Brad Smith unveiled the plan at the Australian embassy in Washington, DC on the first day of the PM's official visit to the US. Microsoft says the project is part of its biggest investment in Australia in its 40-year history: a $5 billion plan to expand infrastructure and skills, with a focus on cloud technology and artificial intelligence. The company will work with the Australian Signals Directorate - the national agency responsible for cybersecurity and online warfare - to build the cyber shield, dubbed MACS (Microsoft-Australian Signals Directorate Cyber Shield). Without naming specific countries, Microsoft said it would have a focus on "defending against sophisticated nation-state cyber threats". Asked about the plan being aimed at countering the threat of China, Mr Albanese said it was "aimed at strengthening Australia".

#19822226 at 2023-10-29 05:36:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#32 - Part 94
Australia / China Tensions - Part 10
>>19775766 Anthony Albanese urged to halt Daniel Duggan's US extradition during meeting with president - Showing that their home-baked cake had made it safely to school was important in itself, but the Duggan family had little inkling of the happy snap's broader significance. The photograph of Daniel Duggan with his kids outside their country New South Wales school captured one of his last moments of freedom. "That (cake photo) is the last photo of Dan with us," his wife, Saffrine, said, ahead of Saturday, the day which marks a year since her husband was arrested. "Every photo that I take or have since, there is one massive hole in our family - their father and my husband." Duggan, a former US military pilot who became an Australian citizen in 2012, is accused of breaching US arms trafficking laws by training Chinese military pilots while working at a flight school more than a decade ago. Duggan has consistently denied the allegation. But if convicted, he faces up to 60 years in prison. "We feel that it's been an act of violence and cruelty on our family to take away a beautiful man, my husband, under allegations that are clearly political, that we flatly deny, are unproven and are 12 years old," Saffrine Duggan said. She holds hope his case could be raised when the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, meets with US president Joe Biden and other officials during a state visit next week. Any agreement for extradition to the US must be approved by the federal government, specifically the attorney general. "I ask the prime minister to deliver a message ... that he will not support the extradition of my husband," Saffrine Duggan said. "He belongs with us, in Australia."
>>19780612 China agrees to lift 'coercive' tariffs on Australian wine - Beijing has agreed to review its crippling tariffs on Australian wine, a breakthrough for the Albanese government that leaves only the live lobster trade and a clutch of beef abattoirs on China's trade blacklist ahead of Anthony Albanese's trip to meet Xi Jinping. The Prime Minister unveiled the deal on Sunday as he revealed he would travel to Beijing and Shanghai from November 4 to 7 to meet with President Xi and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. "I look forward to visiting China, an important step towards ensuring a stable and productive relationship," Prime Minister Albanese said in a statement. "I welcome the progress we have made to return Australian products, including Australian wine, to the Chinese market. Strong trade benefits both countries." The trade win comes days after the Albanese government announced that it would allow Chinese company Landbridge to continue its controversial lease over the Port of Darwin.
>>19785776 PM entrapped in crisis of symbolism over outcome - "Anthony Albanese is now entrapped in a crisis of symbolism over outcome. It is a political crisis of his own making. Failure to secure strategically significant benefits in Washington on AUKUS will reflect a weakness of influence. A reluctance to raise the dominant issue of Chinese military aggression - in light of the Pentagon's recent warning of China's acceleration of nuclear capability - will be seen as weakness toward Beijing. Albanese, a damaged leader in the wake of the voice referendum, now seeks a narrative that elevates him as a leader that can traverse the chasm: a maintenance of US-Australian cultural and military hegemony against a restoration of Australia-China pragmatic relations. The US will be acutely aware of the fact that several days after standing for photos in the Rose Garden, Albanese will be standing in the same spot as Vladimir Putin last week, as a guest of the Chinese dictator. They will be wondering about Australia's commitment as it urges the US not to repeat the Obama mistake of taking its eye off the Indo-Pacific. Meanwhile, average Australian families struggling with their ballooning mortgages will be wondering what it all means for them." - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

#19822211 at 2023-10-29 05:33:36 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#32 - Part 89
Australia / China Tensions - Part 5
>>19664451 Daniel Duggan: US extradition case could be delayed due to fight over AFP and ASIO documents - Lawyers for an ex-US navy pilot accused of training Chinese airmen say delays in obtaining crucial material from the government mean an upcoming extradition hearing will have to be delayed. Daniel Edmund Duggan, 55, was arrested in October last year after the US government accused him of arms trafficking by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012. He is also accused of money laundering while a US citizen. The father of six denies all the charges. Appearing at Downing Centre local court on Wednesday, Duggan's lawyer Dennis Miralis said his client would seek to vacate an upcoming hearing on 23 November for the United States' extradition application. The 55-year-old is trying to get hold of documents from government agencies such as the Australian federal police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the US Department of Justice regarding the allegations against him. Miralis said the agencies had opposed handing over material to the former navy pilot, citing secrecy and the possibility of interference in international relations.
>>19664477 Bondi businessman accused of selling secrets to China can only be accused of plagiarism, lawyers argue - Lawyers for a Bondi businessman accused of selling Australian secrets to China say simple artificial intelligence tools used to check for plagiarism at universities verified his claim he only provided publicly available information. Alexander Csergo watched on via video link from Sydney's Parklea prison on Wednesday as prosecutors told Downing Centre local court they would ask the federal attorney general's department if it wanted to continue his case. Csergo has been held in prison on remand after he was arrested in Bondi in April. He was the first person in Australia to be charged with reckless foreign interference, an offence created as part of a suite of national security laws introduced in 2018. The 55-year-old is alleged to have swapped reports on business and politics with two Chinese handlers, known to him by their anglicised names of Ken and Evelyn, in exchange for envelopes of cash while he was living in Shanghai during the pandemic.
>>19679658 Anthony Albanese hits security turbulence: VIP plane at risk in Beijing - Anthony Albanese's upcoming trip to Beijing has been thrown off course by security advice that he should avoid travelling in his RAAF jet because its systems could be hacked by Chinese spies. It's understood a number of options are being considered, including using one or more of the RAAF's smaller jets, or flying the Prime Minister's plane to a nearby country and using a different aircraft for the final leg into Beijing. Mr Albanese's primary aircraft for international trips is one of the air force's seven KC-30A air-to-air refuellers that has been modified with VIP sleeping and working ?facilities, and a mix of business class and economy seats for staff and the media. It has advanced communication and navigation systems, and electronic self-?protection capabilities to shield against surface-to-air missiles. Multiple high-level sources said the security warnings had been issued. It was not yet clear how Mr Albanese would get to Beijing. The Prime Minister has said he will travel to China by the end of the year to restore bilateral ties at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. He is yet to release his travel dates but late October or early November are likely, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam's historic visit to China.

#19822202 at 2023-10-29 05:31:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#32 - Part 85
Australia / China Tensions - Part 1
>>19505156 Anthony Albanese agrees to visit China this year after seven-year freeze-out - Anthony Albanese has formally accepted an invitation to visit to Beijing this year - the first by an Australian Prime Minister since 2016 - during bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Jakarta. The Prime Minister raised with Mr Li the plight of Australians detained in China, including Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, and called for the resumption of "unimpeded trade" between the countries. He said he also expressed Australia's concerns over China's human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong during the "frank and constructive" talks, and its disputed territorial claims in the South China Sea and over Taiwan. "Australia seeks to work towards productive and stable relations with China based on mutual benefit and respect," Mr Albanese said after the meeting, which lasted about 50 minutes. He said he confirmed "I would accept an invitation and will visit China later this year at a mutually agreeable time".
>>19511829 China moves to repair damage it caused to relations with Canberra - Anthony Albanese's meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit is another breakthrough moment in the slow restoration of the China-Australia relationship. Beijing is now primarily driving this rebalance through conciliatory words and actions that stand in stark contrast to its wolf warrior, wrecking ball behaviour of recent years, which led the relationship to crumble. Mr Li, in his meeting with the Prime Minister, spoke of a renewed relationship that "has continued to show a positive momentum of movement" and of his hopes "to work with you to further improve and grow the bilateral relationship".
>>19535089 Top gun Daniel Duggan, seeks documents showing why he was deemed a high-risk inmate - The former US top gun accused of training Chinese military pilots has gone to court seeking to find out why he was initially deemed an "extreme high-risk restricted'' prisoner, a designation usually reserved for terrorists. Daniel Edmund Duggan has two appeals lodged with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking documents from NSW prison authorities. The Australian citizen is trying to ascertain why he received such a high-level designation when he was first detained after being ?apprehended on a provisional ?arrest warrant last October. He does not face any charges in Australia but the US is seeking to extradite him to face charges ?alleging he helped train Chinese fighter pilots, and for money-laundering. The indictment relates mainly to his activities training Chinese pilots through a South African flying academy during a short-term contract more than 10 years ago. The US alleges the academy was a front group for China, training People's Liberation Army pilots, and that Mr Duggan's training breached US laws related to the exporting of defence services. Mr Duggan denies any wrongdoing, and his supporters say the pilots he trained were civilians.
>>19548631 Australia toughens ban on training 'certain foreign militaries' after pilot case - Australia will toughen laws stopping former defence staff from training "certain foreign militaries", introducing a penalty of 20 years prison and widening the ban to stop any Australians offering military training to countries seen as a national security risk. A series of cases where former military pilots living in Australia had worked for a South African flight school training Chinese pilots, which the United States alleges are Chinese military pilots, has prompted the crackdown.
>>19581567 Xi Jinping's pick for foreign minister, Qin Gang, dismissed over love child - Xi Jinping's pick for foreign minister, Qin Gang, was dismissed after only seven months because Beijing worried a love child with a Chinese television journalist made him vulnerable to American intelligence agencies. Senior Chinese officials have been told Mr Qin, 57, was abruptly removed from his job as China's top diplomat because of "lifestyle issues", a party euphemism for his widely discussed affair with Phoenix television host Fu Xiaotian. "The probe found that Qin had engaged in an extramarital affair that led to the birth of a child in the US," the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the internal communist party investigation. "The investigation is continuing with Qin's co-operation ... and it is now focusing on whether the affair or other conduct by Qin might have compromised China's national security." The salacious dismissal is hugely embarrassing for Xi, who had overseen Qin's unusually fast promotion. It has exposed huge gaps in Beijing's vetting process, a problem underlined by the additional recent removal of China's Defence Minister Li Shangfu.

#19785888 at 2023-10-23 10:10:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19535089
>>19775719
Former US fighter pilot Daniel Duggan in 'existential fight' one year on

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - OCTOBER 23, 2023

A former top gun fighting an extradition bid by the US will spend at least six more months in possible solitary confinement in a NSW maximum security prison, as his wife urges the Prime Minister to oppose the handover request during his visit t0 Washington.

Downing Centre Local Court heard a date for Daniel Edmund Duggan's extradition hearing was set for May next year, with his lawyer Dennis Miralis saying that further time in custody was necessary if they were to successfully fight the potential 65-year maximum-security prison term he faced if extradited to the US.

"This is existential," Mr Miralis told media outside court.

The former US marine has already spent one year in custody after he was issued with the extradition order on charges he illegally trained People's Liberation Army pilots, conspired with others to enable the training, and money-laundering. He does not face any charges in Australia.

The military training was allegedly provided via a controversial South African flying school, which has links to Chinese state-owned enterprises including aviation giant COMAC, more than ten years ago.

The court heard Mr Duggan would make an application late next month to access a Department of Defence report which deals with Australian Defence Force members allegedly providing military services to China.

Mr Miralis said that material was "critical" to his client's ability to properly and successfully defend himself, and demonstrated the "political nature" of the US extradition request.

His legal team are also hoping to get their hands on 430 documents from the AFP later this month which include communications between ASIO, the Department of Justice, the AFP and the FBI around their investigation of Mr Duggan.

Outside court, Mr Duggan's wife Saffrine called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to oppose the extradition of her husband when he meets with President Joe Biden in the US later this week.

"Today we demand our Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese make this right and set Dan free," Ms Duggan said outside the court on Monday.

Her six school-age children held posters with their father's face on it, and chanted "Free Dan Duggan".

"I ask the Prime Minister to deliver a message on his US visit. A message that he will not support the extradition of Dan Duggan. A message that Dan is being returned to his family where he belongs as an Australian citizen," she said.

She described this day as "the most terrible of anniversaries".

"Today we mark one year since my husband, a father and best friend, has been locked away in solitary confinement ... based on 12 year-old allegations, unproven allegations he flatly denies, allegations which are clearly political and have no place in our legal system.

"And yet another court appearance where we are forced to beg for documents, simple documents, that are vital to Dan's case, and they should have been provided to us a year ago."

Ms Duggan called her husband's imprisonment "an extreme act of violence and cruelty on my family".

She had duct-taped the measurements for a 2 by 4 metre cell on the ground in front of the court.

"Our government has allowed this to happen. In fact, it enabled it to happen on the orders of a foreign government under an extradition treaty that is unjust and an abomination of our laws."

She said the extradition treaty "bleeds us dry in an attempt to force submission" through blocking Mr Duggan's right to bail, and the right of his family of government and legal assistance.

Mr Miralis also said he had "no doubt" the matter would be the subject matter of bilateral discussions.

Diplomacy often occurred behind closed doors, he said, but in relation to extradition cases it was open to the Attorney-General to intervene.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/former-us-top-gun-in-existential-fight-one-year-on/news-story/510b4bc74e668921bcc091aa9aba036d

#19775766 at 2023-10-21 13:40:30 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19535089
>>19775719
Anthony Albanese urged to halt Daniel Duggan's US extradition during meeting with president

Today marks the one-year anniversary since Duggan's arrest and being held in maximum-security prison for allegedly breaching US arms trafficking laws

Ben Doherty - 21 Oct 2023

1/2

Showing that their home-baked cake had made it safely to school was important in itself, but the Duggan family had little inkling of the happy snap's broader significance.

The photograph of Daniel Duggan with his kids outside their country New South Wales school captured one of his last moments of freedom.

"That (cake photo) is the last photo of Dan with us," his wife, Saffrine, said, ahead of Saturday, the day which marks a year since her husband was arrested.

"Every photo that I take or have since, there is one massive hole in our family - their father and my husband."

In the year since the naturalised Australian citizen was arrested in a supermarket car park in Orange at the request of US authorities, his family has found themselves battling two governments in court, complex federal law, and arcane secrecy provisions in their bid to bring the father-of-six home.

"People ask me how I'm going and I burst into tears," Saffrine Duggan said.

"I can't even put words to my real extent of emotions to how deep the hurt and horror really is."

Duggan, a former US military pilot who became an Australian citizen in 2012, is accused of breaching US arms trafficking laws by training Chinese military pilots while working at a flight school more than a decade ago.

Duggan has consistently denied the allegation. But if convicted, he faces up to 60 years in prison.

The 55-year-old has been held in maximum-security prisons since his arrest: in March he was moved to Lithgow prison, detained in a two-by-four-metre cell.

He is permitted out into an exercise yard daily but has little-to-no human contact besides phone calls home that drop out every 10 minutes, Saffrine Duggan said.

The family also visits each Sunday for one hour, driving 90 minutes from the family farm.

"We feel that it's been an act of violence and cruelty on our family to take away a beautiful man, my husband, under allegations that are clearly political, that we flatly deny, are unproven and are 12 years old," Saffrine Duggan said.

"We can't believe our government has allowed this to happen."

She holds hope his case could be raised when the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, meets with US president Joe Biden and other officials during a state visit next week. Any agreement for extradition to the US must be approved by the federal government, specifically the attorney general.

"I ask the prime minister to deliver a message ... that he will not support the extradition of my husband," Saffrine Duggan said.

"He belongs with us, in Australia."

(continued)

#19664451 at 2023-10-04 10:44:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19535089
Daniel Duggan: US extradition case could be delayed due to fight over AFP and ASIO documents

Fate of ex-US navy pilot remains uncertain as legal team seeks 2,000 documents relating to claim he was 'lured' back to Australia

AAP / theguardian.com - Wed 4 Oct

Lawyers for an ex-US navy pilot accused of training Chinese airmen say delays in obtaining crucial material from the government mean an upcoming extradition hearing will have to be delayed.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, 55, was arrested in October last year after the US government accused him of arms trafficking by providing military training to Chinese pilots in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

He is also accused of money laundering while a US citizen. The father of six denies all the charges.

Appearing at Downing Centre local court on Wednesday, Duggan's lawyer Dennis Miralis said his client would seek to vacate an upcoming hearing on 23 November for the United States' extradition application.

A magistrate will hear submissions on that postponement at an earlier hearing on 23 October, with Duggan expected to appear via a video link.

Outside court on Wednesday, Miralis said it was regrettable that further delays could occur as Duggan was psychologically affected from being held in custody.

"However at the same time, it's absolutely essential that Dan's right to a fair hearing is preserved and nothing is done to prejudice that right," he told AAP.

"Regrettably it's very slow. However, it's absolutely crucial for us to get that material."

The 55-year-old is trying to get hold of documents from government agencies such as the Australian federal police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the US Department of Justice regarding the allegations against him.

Miralis said the agencies had opposed handing over material to the former navy pilot, citing secrecy and the possibility of interference in international relations.

Duggan's legal team wants to view about 2,000 documents allegedly relating to prior claims the ex-pilot was "lured" back to Australia to be arrested for the extradition.

Miralis said the AFP could not hand over all material until 17 November, mere days before the scheduled extradition hearing.

Duggan's wife, Saffrine, said in May the prosecution showed the legal system was being "weaponised against an Australian citizen at the behest of a foreign government".

The US government has accused the former pilot of conspiring with others to provide military training to China in relation to aircraft-carrier approaches and landings.

It is also alleged he provided military training to Chinese pilots in 2012 and conspired to launder payments for the services.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/04/Daniel-Duggan-ex-marine-pilot-us-extradition-case-arms-trafficking

#19548631 at 2023-09-14 11:27:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19267329 (pb)
>>19535089
Australia toughens ban on training 'certain foreign militaries' after pilot case

Kirsty Needham - September 14, 2023

SYDNEY, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Australia will toughen laws stopping former defence staff from training "certain foreign militaries", introducing a penalty of 20 years prison and widening the ban to stop any Australians offering military training to countries seen as a national security risk.

A series of cases where former military pilots living in Australia had worked for a South African flight school training Chinese pilots, which the United States alleges are Chinese military pilots, has prompted the crackdown.

Australia's "Five Eyes" intelligence partners of Britain, United States, New Zealand and Canada will be exempt from the new law, officials said.

Exemptions will also be provided if the defence minister authorises the training, or it relates to humanitarian relief or United Nations duties.

Penalties of up to 20 years prison will apply for providing military training or tactics to a foreign military or government body, including hybrid civilian and military organisations, or state-owned companies, without authorisation from the defence minister.

Defence Minister Richard Marles introduced the amendment to Australia's parliament on Thursday, saying the bill was partly modelled on U.S. laws, and will strengthen criminal laws in Australia that already ban the provision of military training to a foreign government by former Australian defence staff.

The new law goes further, stopping any Australian citizen or permanent resident from providing such training without the minister's authorisation.

The intention was to "prevent individuals with knowledge of sensitive defence information from training or working for certain foreign militaries or governments where that activity would put Australia's national security at risk", he said.

A former U.S. Marines Corp pilot who had recently returned from working in China was arrested in Australia last year and faces extradition to the United States on charges of training Chinese military pilots at a South African flying school. The pilot, Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen, remains in custody and denies any wrongdoing.

The Test Flying Academy of South Africa was placed on a U.S. trade blacklist on national security grounds in June for "providing training to Chinese military pilots using Western and NATO sources".

The flight training division of AVIC, a Chinese state-owned aviation and defence company that was in partnership with TFASA, is also on the blacklist.

The Australian home of TFASA chief operating officer Keith Hartley was raided by Australian Federal Police in November. A court was told Hartley, a former British military pilot, was suspected of organising the training of Chinese military pilots delivered by the flight school. Hartley has not been charged, and denies any wrongdoing.

Under the new law, working for companies where a foreign government holds 50% of shares or the directors are expected to act in accordance with the wishes of the foreign government is also banned.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-toughens-ban-training-certain-foreign-militaries-after-pilot-case-2023-09-14/

#19535089 at 2023-09-12 11:07:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19226522 (pb)
>>19237940 (pb)
Top gun Daniel Duggan, seeks documents showing why he was deemed a high-risk inmate

ELLEN WHINNETT and LIAM MENDES - SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

The former US top gun accused of training Chinese military pilots has gone to court seeking to find out why he was initially deemed an "extreme high-risk restricted'' prisoner, a designation usually? ?reserved for terrorists.

Daniel Edmund Duggan has two appeals lodged with the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking documents from NSW prison authorities.

The Australian citizen is trying to ascertain why he received such a high-level designation when he was first detained after being ?apprehended on a provisional ?arrest warrant last October.

He does not face any charges in Australia but the US is seeking to extradite him to face charges ?alleging he helped train Chinese fighter pilots, and for money-laundering.

The indictment relates mainly to his activities training Chinese pilots through a South African flying academy during a short-term contract more than 10 years ago.

The US alleges the academy was a front group for China, training People's Liberation Army ?pilots, and that Mr Duggan's training breached US laws related to the exporting of defence services.

Mr Duggan denies any wrongdoing, and his supporters say the pilots he trained were civilians.

Mr Duggan, a father of six, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police at the request of the US in his NSW hometown of Orange last year and initially detained at the Bathurst Correctional Centre in maximum security.

According to a timeline prepared by the International Commission of Jurists, headed in Australia by former NSW director of public prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery, the NSW Commissioner of Corrective Services ?approved Mr Duggan's designation of "extreme high-risk ?restricted'' inmate a week after he was taken into custody. He was later transferred to the Metropolitan Remand and ?Reception Centre at Silverwater, Sydney, on December 1.

On December 16, his interim extreme high-risk designation was revoked, although he was not advised until he received a letter on January 17. In March he was moved to the Lithgow Correctional Centre.

Mr Duggan is strongly resisting being extradited to the US and his legal team continues to seek documents relating to his security designation. His appeals' next hearing is listed for September 25.

"The proceedings listed before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal are a current matter between Mr Duggan and the ?Department of Communities and Justice, a department spokeswoman said. "It would be inappropriate to provide comment about ongoing legal matters.''

The federal Attorney-General's office, which is involved in the extradition request, said section 53 of the Extradition Act 1988 stipulated that persons held in extradition custody are subject to the prison conditions and treatment of the relevant state or territory.

"Accordingly, decisions about Mr Duggan's classification and prison conditions are made by, and are a matter for, Corrective Services NSW,'' a spokeswoman said. "Decisions regarding classification and prison conditions are separate from the extradition request for Mr Duggan, which is a matter for the Attorney-General's Department.''

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/top-gun-Daniel-Duggan-seeks-documents-showing-why-he-was-deemed-a-highrisk-inmate/news-story/41b59c4533993e9234282fb0b2ffa0b0

#19487555 at 2023-09-04 10:15:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#31 - Part 53
Australia / China Tensions- Part 4
>>19267329 Adelaide top gun Keith Hartley provided training for Chinese airmen, search warrant claims - An Adelaide-based former jet fighter pilot is accused of conducting training for military exercises that were "directed, funded or supervised'' by China's People's Liberation Army. Former RAF top gun Keith Andrew Hartley, 74, is suspected of providing "training involving the use of arms or practising military exercises" to PLA pilots between June 2018 and January 2022. The allegations emerged after Mr Hartley lost a Federal Court bid to have the Australian Federal Police search warrant used to search his home in November voided. He has not been charged with any offence. The raid related to his role as chief operating officer of controversial South African company Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA). He is the second Australian-based former military fighter pilot being investigated for his involvement in the alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots, with former US Marine pilot Dan Duggan incarcerated while he fights an extradition request by the US government.
>>19272537 US to further military footprint in Australia to suppress China; Washington 'source of tension' in Asia-Pacific - Chinese analysts on Sunday warned of a more volatile and unstable Asia-Pacific region where the US would provoke a regional arms race with more large-scale military drills and more strategic weapons deployments, after the latest move between the US and Australia that reached an agreement to expand the US military footprint on the southern continent to contain China's development. - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn
>>19272546 Being an offensive bridgehead not in Australia's national interests: Global Times editorial - By serving as the frontline base for Washington's aggression toward China, Australia is essentially tying itself with explosives and placing the lit fuse in the hands of Washington politicians known for their adventurous and provocative thinking toward China. If Australia provides a stronghold or arms for deterring or attacking China, it will undoubtedly face resolute retaliation from China. This is not alarmist talk but military common sense; Australia must not harbor any illusions. - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>19272640 Australian businessman 'in survival mode' when he placated Chinese intelligence with open-source information, documents claim - Alexander Csergo, a Sydney businessman, has been charged with one count of reckless foreign interference, with police alleging he provided reports to his handlers whom he knew were part of China's vast state intelligence apparatus. But, as Csergo told police in an interview detailed in the police statement of facts tendered to a New South Wales court, he says he felt essentially trapped in China - most acutely during the height of Shanghai's highly restrictive Covid lockdowns - and that he needed to placate his handlers or risk being detained in the country.
>>19272701 Spies may have known for a decade that top gun Daniel Duggan was training China pilots - Australia's intelligence watchdog is investigating whether Western spy agencies knew for more than a decade that former top gun Daniel ?Edmund Duggan was training ?Chinese pilots through a controversial South African flying academy. The Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is examining what interactions Australia's intelligence services had with Mr Duggan, following a complaint from his defence team that the domestic spy agency ASIO may have been involved in "luring'' him back to Australia in order to enable his arrest.
>>19278203 China lodges complaint over foreign interference inquiry, WeChat criticism - Liberal senator James Paterson has accused the Chinese embassy of complaining to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about a Senate inquiry into foreign interference on social media probing the influence of WeChat. The Australian can reveal an official from DFAT's China external and co-ordination branch emailed Senator Paterson's committee secretariat seeking clarification about the parliament's powers to compel foreign actors to front public hearings. The official questioned if it was accurate to say Chinese social media giant WeChat's refusal to appear at the senate hearing "demonstrated contempt".

#19487554 at 2023-09-04 10:15:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#31 - Part 52
Australia / China Tensions- Part 3
>>19237940 Video: Former US Marine pilot proclaims innocence from Australian prison cell | 7.30 - For nine months, Australian citizen Daniel Duggan has been locked up in a maximum security prison while he fights extradition to the United States. The US Department of Justice wants to prosecute the former marine Major, for allegedly training Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago. Tonight, Duggan speaks publicly for the first time. Angelique Donnellan has this exclusive report. - ABC News In-depth
>>19243436 Video: Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang removed from office - Chinese leader Xi Jinping removed his handpicked foreign minister after less than seven months on the job, a surprise move that leaves more questions than answers around China's black-box political system. Qin Gang's removal comes after his mysterious absence from the public stage over the past month, a disappearance that has sparked speculation about his fate and cast a global spotlight on the Communist Party's opaque governance of the world's second-largest economy.
>>19243465 Video: Chinese minister replaced amid claim of affair with TV host - China's foreign minister has been abruptly replaced following weeks of speculation about his disappearance from public view and speculation that he has been sacked for an affair with a newsreader. A hastily summoned gathering of the National People's Congress standing committee announced on Tuesday that Qin Gang had been removed from his post. He has been replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi, after a month in which he made no public appearances.
>>19243492 Chinese Foreign Ministry scrubs missing minister from its records - China's Foreign Ministry has removed all mention of Qin Gang from its online records, purging the former foreign minister's name and his meetings with world leaders. It follows President Xi Jinping's decision to sack Qin from his role on Tuesday night after rumours ranging from illness to an extramarital affair with a high-profile TV presenter, to a power struggle at the top of the Chinese Communist Party, dogged the rising former ambassador to the United States.
>>19243524 Top legislature appoints officials, reviews law - China's top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister and Pan Gongsheng as central bank governor, as it convened a session on Tuesday. Qin Gang was removed from the post of foreign minister he concurrently held; Yi Gang was removed from the post of governor of the People's Bank of China, according to a decision adopted at the fourth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC). - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn
>>19243535 China's top legislature adopts a decision of removing Qin Gang as foreign minister, appoints Wang Yi as foreign minister - China's top legislature convened a session on Tuesday to review a draft criminal law amendment and a decision on official appointment and removal. Qin Gang has been removed of his position as Foreign Minister. Wang Yi was appointed as the Chinese Foreign Minister. Tuesday's decision has not touched on Qin's title of State Councilor. - Chen Qingqing - globaltimes.cn
>>19250156 'Don't wait' to go to Beijing, Julie Bishop tells Anthony Albanese - Julie Bishop says China's ?reappointment of Wang Yi as Foreign Minister ?"augurs well" for Australia's relationship with Beijing, and has urged Anthony Albanese to travel to Beijing as soon as possible to accelerate the thaw in bilateral ties.
>>19250241 US coercion will ultimately lead to strong opposition from people of Australia, Pacific Island Countries - "The US and its allies have long been engaged in political manipulation in the region, with the purported aim to impose its own political and economic will on the PICs. More often than not, US aid programs are camouflaged instruments of political influence to shape and reshape the local political landscape. In contrast, China's relationship with countries in the South Pacific region has always been based on the principle of mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual benefit. China's assistance to the countries has significantly improved the local infrastructure, speeded up the economic development and elevated the people's livelihood with tangible fruitful outcomes and enduring benefits." - Chen Hong - globaltimes.cn
>>19257040 Darwin port review 'holds back' China ties - Uncertainty over the future of the Chinese-owned Port of Darwin has emerged as a barrier to the restoration of relations with Beijing, which says tensions over the "blue bridge" between the countries could slow the relaxation of trade sanctions on Australian exports. As Anthony Albanese weighs an invitation to visit Beijing before the end of the year, a senior Chinese government official urged the "quick conclusion" of a review of the port's Chinese ownership, saying the issue was undermining the stabilisation of bilateral ties.

#19487553 at 2023-09-04 10:14:41 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#31 - Part 51
Australia / China Tensions- Part 2
>>19237802 Ex-US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots fights extradition to the US - Former Marine Daniel Duggan once flew Harrier jets for the United States, taking off and landing on Navy carriers during international missions as part of Marine Attack Squadron 214, based in Yuma, Arizona. That was over 20 years ago, but his activity since leaving the service is now the subject of a US indictment that alleges he used his specialist skills to teach Chinese pilots how to land planes on aircraft carriers, claims he denies.
>>19237815 Jailed pilot will rely on novel defence never used in Australia - One of Australia's top barristers will seek to expand the legal definition of a political offence during a challenge to the extradition of Daniel Duggan, an Australian man accused of training Chinese military pilots overseas. Barrister Bret Walker SC said a political offence does not have a precise definition, with the Extradition Act defining it as an offence of a political character because of the circumstances in which it is committed, "or otherwise". He said no case law exists setting out the interpretation of those two words, "or otherwise". "This will be it," Walker said. "There's been no case of this kind argued or decided before."
>>19237833 Daniel Duggan: flight school where former US marine taught says syllabus 'totally unclassified' - The flight school where former marine Daniel Duggan allegedly helped train Chinese fighter pilots insists all of his teaching was legal, in line with international standards and "totally unclassified". The Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) says it has strict protocols and a code of conduct to ensure no information is shared that might be legally or operationally sensitive - or security classified.
>>19237861 Wife of ex-Top Gun pilot slams 'terrible injustice' in extradition fight - A former US marine pilot will remain in limbo for at least another four months as he fights against an extradition order which has been called a "terrible injustice". Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October last year after the US indicated it would seek his extradition for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering. On Tuesday, his wife Saffrine Duggan stood outside Sydney Downing Centre Court with the couple's six children amid a crowd of protesters holding signs demanding Mr Duggan's release.
>>19237876 Court date set for jailed ex-pilot Daniel Duggan to fight US extradition over claims he trained Chinese pilots - The wife of former US marine pilot Daniel Duggan says the impact of his ongoing incarceration on their family is "horrendous". The 54-year-old denies allegations he helped train Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago, which relate to his work at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa. An extradition hearing was set for November 24, however Mr Duggan's legal team says the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is investigating the role ASIO played in the lead-up to his arrest, which could impact the case.
>>19237884 Video: Pilot Daniel Duggan in Australia, accused of training Chinese military pilots - The wife of a former U.S top gun has choked back tears as her husband fights extradition from Australia to America, accused of training Chinese military pilots. Daniel Duggan has been locked up since late last year. His family and supporters today demanded his immediate release. - 7NEWS Australia
>>19237894 Video: Family of former US pilot protests outside Sydney court - Family and friends of detained former American marine Daniel Duggan have held a peaceful protest outside a Sydney court, as the father fights extradition to the United States. - 9 News Australia
>>19237929 'Top Gun' pilot speaks from his Australian prison cell as he fights extradition to the US for allegedly training Chinese pilots - Daniel Duggan, 54, says "Hello". The Australian citizen and former US Marine pilot is calling from his maximum-security cell in New South Wales. It's the first time he's spoken publicly. Talking to 7.30 comes with risk. His words could be used as evidence against him. He's been in isolation for nine months. "It's not that I want to speak out or decided to speak out, but I feel that I've had a very unfair ability to defend myself," he told 7.30.

#19487552 at 2023-09-04 10:14:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#31 - Part 50
Australia / China Tensions- Part 1
>>19194520 Solomon Islands PM accuses Australia of pulling budget support, foreign interference - The prime minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare says China has agreed to provide funding to prop up the country's troubled budget, and also accused Australia and development partners of suddenly withdrawing financial support worth millions of dollars.
>>19199781 Democracy activists welcome here say Aussie MPs, as new figures show few Hongkongers seek visas - People fleeing Chinese oppression in Hong Kong should consider Australia as a destination, the leaders of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China say, as new figures show barely a handful of protection visas are granted to Hongkongers by Australia each year.
>>19204881 'My son is innocent': mother of imprisoned Australian businessman denies he's a Chinese spy - Australian businessman Alexander Csergo brought home a "shopping list" given to him by two Chinese intelligence officials as evidence of China's overt and ultimately unsuccessful efforts to cultivate him as a source, his lawyers say. Csergo's elderly mother, Cathy Csergo said public allegations that her son was involved in espionage were devastating to her family and that his isolation was cruel and unjustified.
>>19210696 Video: How China's foreign minister going MIA could affect diplomacy with Australia - China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has disappeared from public view after his last public appearance about three weeks ago. Experts say it is the first time a senior minister in the Chinese government has been out of the public eye for more than 20 days without explanation. His disappearance has led to much speculation in China and in the Chinese diaspora around the world about possible changes in the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
>>19220783 China's spy threat to our solar energy grid - Australia's fast-growing solar energy grid is being dominated by Chinese firms with links to the Chinese Communist Party, raising fears of the potential for Beijing to sabotage, surveil or disrupt solar energy supplies. New research shows Chinese companies dominate 58 per cent of the Australian inverter market, making the devices, which are internet-connected and can be remotely controlled, potentially vulnerable to any Chinese attempt to target the solar electricity grid.
>>19226522 Battle to save Aussie dad from 'justice' in America - Lawyers for an Australian father locked up in prison for nine months over claims he trained Chinese military pilots will front a Sydney Court this week to apply for a temporary stay of proceedings. Dan Duggan has been in solitary confinement awaiting extradition to the US based on 11-year-old allegations he trained Chinese military pilots in South Africa from 2010 to 2012. The allegations, which Mr Duggan strenuously denies, are detailed in a US indictment filed in 2017, at the same time that US foreign policy towards China took a dramatic turn.
>>19226545 Australian 'Top Gun' accused of training Chinese is backed by US marine - A former high-ranking member of the United States military has thrown his support behind Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen and former marine who is being held in maximum security over accusations he trained Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago. Duggan, 54, who lives near Orange in regional NSW with his wife and six children, has been in custody since October last year after the US indicated it would request his extradition. He denies any wrongdoing. In a letter written last week, retired marine colonel Ben Hancock said he had known Duggan for 25 years, including serving in the same squadron for two years, working closely on a six-month ship deployment, and being deployed in Kuwait. He described Duggan as a "loyal patriot" and team player who served the US honourably and could be counted on in difficult circumstances.
>>19237694 'I think he is gone': The strange disappearance of China's foreign minister Qin Gang - Beijing's official line had been that Qin Gang has been unwell. The explanation held for a couple of weeks, but few experts now believe that one of China's top foreign affairs officials has been bedridden for a month without an update on his condition. Illness has also been used previously as an excuse by the Chinese government for officials who have fallen suddenly out of favour and disappeared.
>>19237763 Former top gun pilot Daniel Duggan fights 'political extradition' to United States - Former top gun pilot Daniel Duggan's lawyers say there is a political character to the charges against their client and will present expert evidence on deteriorating relations between the United States and China. Lawyers for the 54-year-old Australian citizen are fighting his extradition to the United States to face charges over the alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots.

#19487435 at 2023-09-04 09:32:39 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#31 - Part 53
Australia / China Tensions- Part 4
>>19267329 Adelaide top gun Keith Hartley provided training for Chinese airmen, search warrant claims - An Adelaide-based former jet fighter pilot is accused of conducting training for military exercises that were "directed, funded or supervised'' by China's People's Liberation Army. Former RAF top gun Keith Andrew Hartley, 74, is suspected of providing "training involving the use of arms or practising military exercises" to PLA pilots between June 2018 and January 2022. The allegations emerged after Mr Hartley lost a Federal Court bid to have the Australian Federal Police search warrant used to search his home in November voided. He has not been charged with any offence. The raid related to his role as chief operating officer of controversial South African company Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA). He is the second Australian-based former military fighter pilot being investigated for his involvement in the alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots, with former US Marine pilot Dan Duggan incarcerated while he fights an extradition request by the US government.
>>19272537 US to further military footprint in Australia to suppress China; Washington 'source of tension' in Asia-Pacific - Chinese analysts on Sunday warned of a more volatile and unstable Asia-Pacific region where the US would provoke a regional arms race with more large-scale military drills and more strategic weapons deployments, after the latest move between the US and Australia that reached an agreement to expand the US military footprint on the southern continent to contain China's development. - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn
>>19272546 Being an offensive bridgehead not in Australia's national interests: Global Times editorial - By serving as the frontline base for Washington's aggression toward China, Australia is essentially tying itself with explosives and placing the lit fuse in the hands of Washington politicians known for their adventurous and provocative thinking toward China. If Australia provides a stronghold or arms for deterring or attacking China, it will undoubtedly face resolute retaliation from China. This is not alarmist talk but military common sense; Australia must not harbor any illusions. - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>19272640 Australian businessman 'in survival mode' when he placated Chinese intelligence with open-source information, documents claim - Alexander Csergo, a Sydney businessman, has been charged with one count of reckless foreign interference, with police alleging he provided reports to his handlers whom he knew were part of China's vast state intelligence apparatus. But, as Csergo told police in an interview detailed in the police statement of facts tendered to a New South Wales court, he says he felt essentially trapped in China - most acutely during the height of Shanghai's highly restrictive Covid lockdowns - and that he needed to placate his handlers or risk being detained in the country.
>>19272701 Spies may have known for a decade that top gun Daniel Duggan was training China pilots - Australia's intelligence watchdog is investigating whether Western spy agencies knew for more than a decade that former top gun Daniel ?Edmund Duggan was training ?Chinese pilots through a controversial South African flying academy. The Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is examining what interactions Australia's intelligence services had with Mr Duggan, following a complaint from his defence team that the domestic spy agency ASIO may have been involved in "luring'' him back to Australia in order to enable his arrest.
>>19278203 China lodges complaint over foreign interference inquiry, WeChat criticism - Liberal senator James Paterson has accused the Chinese embassy of complaining to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about a Senate inquiry into foreign interference on social media probing the influence of WeChat. The Australian can reveal an official from DFAT's China external and co-ordination branch emailed Senator Paterson's committee secretariat seeking clarification about the parliament's powers to compel foreign actors to front public hearings. The official questioned if it was accurate to say Chinese social media giant WeChat's refusal to appear at the senate hearing "demonstrated contempt".

#19487434 at 2023-09-04 09:31:58 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#31 - Part 52
Australia / China Tensions- Part 3
>>19237940 Video: Former US Marine pilot proclaims innocence from Australian prison cell | 7.30 - For nine months, Australian citizen Daniel Duggan has been locked up in a maximum security prison while he fights extradition to the United States. The US Department of Justice wants to prosecute the former marine Major, for allegedly training Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago. Tonight, Duggan speaks publicly for the first time. Angelique Donnellan has this exclusive report. - ABC News In-depth
>>19243436 Video: Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang removed from office - Chinese leader Xi Jinping removed his handpicked foreign minister after less than seven months on the job, a surprise move that leaves more questions than answers around China's black-box political system. Qin Gang's removal comes after his mysterious absence from the public stage over the past month, a disappearance that has sparked speculation about his fate and cast a global spotlight on the Communist Party's opaque governance of the world's second-largest economy.
>>19243465 Video: Chinese minister replaced amid claim of affair with TV host - China's foreign minister has been abruptly replaced following weeks of speculation about his disappearance from public view and speculation that he has been sacked for an affair with a newsreader. A hastily summoned gathering of the National People's Congress standing committee announced on Tuesday that Qin Gang had been removed from his post. He has been replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi, after a month in which he made no public appearances.
>>19243492 Chinese Foreign Ministry scrubs missing minister from its records - China's Foreign Ministry has removed all mention of Qin Gang from its online records, purging the former foreign minister's name and his meetings with world leaders. It follows President Xi Jinping's decision to sack Qin from his role on Tuesday night after rumours ranging from illness to an extramarital affair with a high-profile TV presenter, to a power struggle at the top of the Chinese Communist Party, dogged the rising former ambassador to the United States.
>>19243524 Top legislature appoints officials, reviews law - China's top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister and Pan Gongsheng as central bank governor, as it convened a session on Tuesday. Qin Gang was removed from the post of foreign minister he concurrently held; Yi Gang was removed from the post of governor of the People's Bank of China, according to a decision adopted at the fourth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC). - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn
>>19243535 China's top legislature adopts a decision of removing Qin Gang as foreign minister, appoints Wang Yi as foreign minister - China's top legislature convened a session on Tuesday to review a draft criminal law amendment and a decision on official appointment and removal. Qin Gang has been removed of his position as Foreign Minister. Wang Yi was appointed as the Chinese Foreign Minister. Tuesday's decision has not touched on Qin's title of State Councilor. - Chen Qingqing - globaltimes.cn
>>19250156 'Don't wait' to go to Beijing, Julie Bishop tells Anthony Albanese - Julie Bishop says China's ?reappointment of Wang Yi as Foreign Minister ?"augurs well" for Australia's relationship with Beijing, and has urged Anthony Albanese to travel to Beijing as soon as possible to accelerate the thaw in bilateral ties.
>>19250241 US coercion will ultimately lead to strong opposition from people of Australia, Pacific Island Countries - "The US and its allies have long been engaged in political manipulation in the region, with the purported aim to impose its own political and economic will on the PICs. More often than not, US aid programs are camouflaged instruments of political influence to shape and reshape the local political landscape. In contrast, China's relationship with countries in the South Pacific region has always been based on the principle of mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual benefit. China's assistance to the countries has significantly improved the local infrastructure, speeded up the economic development and elevated the people's livelihood with tangible fruitful outcomes and enduring benefits." - Chen Hong - globaltimes.cn
>>19257040 Darwin port review 'holds back' China ties - Uncertainty over the future of the Chinese-owned Port of Darwin has emerged as a barrier to the restoration of relations with Beijing, which says tensions over the "blue bridge" between the countries could slow the relaxation of trade sanctions on Australian exports. As Anthony Albanese weighs an invitation to visit Beijing before the end of the year, a senior Chinese government official urged the "quick conclusion" of a review of the port's Chinese ownership, saying the issue was undermining the stabilisation of bilateral ties.

#19487433 at 2023-09-04 09:31:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#31 - Part 51
Australia / China Tensions- Part 2
>>19237802 Ex-US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots fights extradition to the US - Former Marine Daniel Duggan once flew Harrier jets for the United States, taking off and landing on Navy carriers during international missions as part of Marine Attack Squadron 214, based in Yuma, Arizona. That was over 20 years ago, but his activity since leaving the service is now the subject of a US indictment that alleges he used his specialist skills to teach Chinese pilots how to land planes on aircraft carriers, claims he denies.
>>19237815 Jailed pilot will rely on novel defence never used in Australia - One of Australia's top barristers will seek to expand the legal definition of a political offence during a challenge to the extradition of Daniel Duggan, an Australian man accused of training Chinese military pilots overseas. Barrister Bret Walker SC said a political offence does not have a precise definition, with the Extradition Act defining it as an offence of a political character because of the circumstances in which it is committed, "or otherwise". He said no case law exists setting out the interpretation of those two words, "or otherwise". "This will be it," Walker said. "There's been no case of this kind argued or decided before."
>>19237833 Daniel Duggan: flight school where former US marine taught says syllabus 'totally unclassified' - The flight school where former marine Daniel Duggan allegedly helped train Chinese fighter pilots insists all of his teaching was legal, in line with international standards and "totally unclassified". The Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) says it has strict protocols and a code of conduct to ensure no information is shared that might be legally or operationally sensitive - or security classified.
>>19237861 Wife of ex-Top Gun pilot slams 'terrible injustice' in extradition fight - A former US marine pilot will remain in limbo for at least another four months as he fights against an extradition order which has been called a "terrible injustice". Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October last year after the US indicated it would seek his extradition for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering. On Tuesday, his wife Saffrine Duggan stood outside Sydney Downing Centre Court with the couple's six children amid a crowd of protesters holding signs demanding Mr Duggan's release.
>>19237876 Court date set for jailed ex-pilot Daniel Duggan to fight US extradition over claims he trained Chinese pilots - The wife of former US marine pilot Daniel Duggan says the impact of his ongoing incarceration on their family is "horrendous". The 54-year-old denies allegations he helped train Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago, which relate to his work at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa. An extradition hearing was set for November 24, however Mr Duggan's legal team says the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is investigating the role ASIO played in the lead-up to his arrest, which could impact the case.
>>19237884 Video: Pilot Daniel Duggan in Australia, accused of training Chinese military pilots - The wife of a former U.S top gun has choked back tears as her husband fights extradition from Australia to America, accused of training Chinese military pilots. Daniel Duggan has been locked up since late last year. His family and supporters today demanded his immediate release. - 7NEWS Australia
>>19237894 Video: Family of former US pilot protests outside Sydney court - Family and friends of detained former American marine Daniel Duggan have held a peaceful protest outside a Sydney court, as the father fights extradition to the United States. - 9 News Australia
>>19237929 'Top Gun' pilot speaks from his Australian prison cell as he fights extradition to the US for allegedly training Chinese pilots - Daniel Duggan, 54, says "Hello". The Australian citizen and former US Marine pilot is calling from his maximum-security cell in New South Wales. It's the first time he's spoken publicly. Talking to 7.30 comes with risk. His words could be used as evidence against him. He's been in isolation for nine months. "It's not that I want to speak out or decided to speak out, but I feel that I've had a very unfair ability to defend myself," he told 7.30.

#19487430 at 2023-09-04 09:29:44 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#31 - Part 50
Australia / China Tensions- Part 1
>>19194520 Solomon Islands PM accuses Australia of pulling budget support, foreign interference - The prime minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare says China has agreed to provide funding to prop up the country's troubled budget, and also accused Australia and development partners of suddenly withdrawing financial support worth millions of dollars.
>>19199781 Democracy activists welcome here say Aussie MPs, as new figures show few Hongkongers seek visas - People fleeing Chinese oppression in Hong Kong should consider Australia as a destination, the leaders of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China say, as new figures show barely a handful of protection visas are granted to Hongkongers by Australia each year.
>>19204881 'My son is innocent': mother of imprisoned Australian businessman denies he's a Chinese spy - Australian businessman Alexander Csergo brought home a "shopping list" given to him by two Chinese intelligence officials as evidence of China's overt and ultimately unsuccessful efforts to cultivate him as a source, his lawyers say. Csergo's elderly mother, Cathy Csergo said public allegations that her son was involved in espionage were devastating to her family and that his isolation was cruel and unjustified.
>>19210696 Video: How China's foreign minister going MIA could affect diplomacy with Australia - China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has disappeared from public view after his last public appearance about three weeks ago. Experts say it is the first time a senior minister in the Chinese government has been out of the public eye for more than 20 days without explanation. His disappearance has led to much speculation in China and in the Chinese diaspora around the world about possible changes in the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
>>19220783 China's spy threat to our solar energy grid - Australia's fast-growing solar energy grid is being dominated by Chinese firms with links to the Chinese Communist Party, raising fears of the potential for Beijing to sabotage, surveil or disrupt solar energy supplies. New research shows Chinese companies dominate 58 per cent of the Australian inverter market, making the devices, which are internet-connected and can be remotely controlled, potentially vulnerable to any Chinese attempt to target the solar electricity grid.
>>19226522 Battle to save Aussie dad from 'justice' in America - Lawyers for an Australian father locked up in prison for nine months over claims he trained Chinese military pilots will front a Sydney Court this week to apply for a temporary stay of proceedings. Dan Duggan has been in solitary confinement awaiting extradition to the US based on 11-year-old allegations he trained Chinese military pilots in South Africa from 2010 to 2012. The allegations, which Mr Duggan strenuously denies, are detailed in a US indictment filed in 2017, at the same time that US foreign policy towards China took a dramatic turn.
>>19226545 Australian 'Top Gun' accused of training Chinese is backed by US marine - A former high-ranking member of the United States military has thrown his support behind Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen and former marine who is being held in maximum security over accusations he trained Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago. Duggan, 54, who lives near Orange in regional NSW with his wife and six children, has been in custody since October last year after the US indicated it would request his extradition. He denies any wrongdoing. In a letter written last week, retired marine colonel Ben Hancock said he had known Duggan for 25 years, including serving in the same squadron for two years, working closely on a six-month ship deployment, and being deployed in Kuwait. He described Duggan as a "loyal patriot" and team player who served the US honourably and could be counted on in difficult circumstances.
>>19237694 'I think he is gone': The strange disappearance of China's foreign minister Qin Gang - Beijing's official line had been that Qin Gang has been unwell. The explanation held for a couple of weeks, but few experts now believe that one of China's top foreign affairs officials has been bedridden for a month without an update on his condition. Illness has also been used previously as an excuse by the Chinese government for officials who have fallen suddenly out of favour and disappeared.
>>19237763 Former top gun pilot Daniel Duggan fights 'political extradition' to United States - Former top gun pilot Daniel Duggan's lawyers say there is a political character to the charges against their client and will present expert evidence on deteriorating relations between the United States and China. Lawyers for the 54-year-old Australian citizen are fighting his extradition to the United States to face charges over the alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots.

#19272701 at 2023-07-31 10:55:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
>>19237929
>>19267329
Spies may have known for a decade that top gun Daniel Duggan was training China pilots

ELLEN WHINNETT - JULY 31, 2023

1/3

Australia's intelligence watchdog is investigating whether Western spy agencies knew for more than a decade that former top gun Daniel ?Edmund Duggan was training ?Chinese pilots through a controversial South African flying academy.

The Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is examining what interactions Australia's intelligence services had with Mr Duggan, following a complaint from his defence team that the domestic spy agency ASIO may have been involved in "luring'' him back to Australia in order to enable his arrest.

The allegation against ASIO was made in the context of the former US marine fighting a bid by the US to extradite him to face charges alleging he illegally trained People's Liberation Army pilots, conspired with others to enable the training, and money-laundering.

While the claim against ASIO, and the fact the IGIS had agreed to investigate, has been made publicly, The Australian understand the intelligence watchdog is ? examining broader complaints, including whether intelligence agencies were aware Western ?pilots, including Mr Duggan, were training Chinese pilots through the Test Flying Academy of South Africa.

The academy, which denies any wrongdoing, has direct links to Chinese state-owned enterprises including aviation giant COMAC and is being scrutinised by intelligence agencies from the Five-Eyes alliance comprising the US, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

It is believed that the Inspector-General, former Federal Court judge Christopher Jessup KC, is ?investigating any interactions ?between Mr Duggan and Western intelligence agencies, understood to include the period 2010-12, when he undertook a training contract with the academy. At the time he was an American citizen based in Australia. He became an Australian citizen in 2012.

The IGIS declined to comment on what timeframe its investigation was focused.

The possibility a Western ?intelligence agency - likely one of the US's vast cyber-monitoring agencies - was aware of the activities of Mr Duggan and other Westerners in training Chinese ?pilots through the academy raises further intrigue about the timing of the charges laid against him.

Mr Duggan was arrested on a provisional warrant in the NSW city of Orange, where he lived with his wife Saffrine and their family of six children on a family farm, on October 21, three days after British media reported up to 30 RAF pilots had gone to China to train military pilots in return for big salaries.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus agreed to accept the extradition request from the US, a preliminary decision that allows the matter to go to court in Australia.

Mr Duggan strongly denies any wrongdoing.

His lawyer Bernard Collaery told The Australian that "I lose sleep over this family".

Magistrates have to find a person is eligible and there is a probable cause to return them in order to sign an extradition. To determine if a person is eligible for ?extradition, the magistrate has to satisfy themselves that the offence alleged does not carry the death penalty, does not put the person at risk of torture, and was not of a political character.

Mr Duggan's lawyers have told the court they believe the extradition application does involve matters of a political character.

If the magistrates does agree to extradition, Mr Dreyfus will make the final decision on whether to send Mr Duggan to the US. Mr Dreyfus has consistently declined to comment on the case.

(continued)

#19237940 at 2023-07-25 12:23:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
>>19237929
Former US Marine pilot proclaims innocence from Australian prison cell | 7.30

ABC News In-depth

'Jul 24, 2023

For nine months, Australian citizen Daniel Duggan has been locked up in a maximum security prison while he fights extradition to the United States. The US Department of Justice wants to prosecute the former marine Major, for allegedly training Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago.

Tonight, Duggan speaks publicly for the first time. Angelique Donnellan has this exclusive report.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVtSwemZFfs

#19237929 at 2023-07-25 12:19:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
'Top Gun' pilot speaks from his Australian prison cell as he fights extradition to the US for allegedly training Chinese pilots

Angelique Donnellan - 25 July 2023

1/2

The phone rings. Then comes an automated message highlighting the gravity of the situation.

"You are about to receive a phone call from a correctional facility.

"The conversation will be recorded and may be monitored."

Daniel Duggan, 54, says "Hello". The Australian citizen and former US Marine pilot is calling from his maximum-security cell in New South Wales.

It's the first time he's spoken publicly. Talking to 7.30 comes with risk. His words could be used as evidence against him. He's been in isolation for nine months.

"It's not that I want to speak out or decided to speak out, but I feel that I've had a very unfair ability to defend myself," he told 7.30.

Mr Duggan's locked up indefinitely while he fights extradition to the United States over allegations he trained Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago.

"My emotion is on my sleeve, what you see is what you get and, I am an unfiltered person, truthful, straight to the face and I'll talk and... that's what I want to do."

Mr Duggan's facing charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering brought by the US government. He faces up to 65 years in jail if he's found guilty.

"It's a death penalty is what that is, at my age," Mr Duggan said.

"I strenuously reject the indictment in its entirety.

"There's a sad joke amongst the (US) legal fraternity... they say you can indict a ham sandwich. So unfortunately, I happen to be the ham sandwich at the moment," he said.

The accusations against Mr Duggan stem from his work between 2010 and 2012 as an instructor at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa.

His lawyer Bernard Collaery told 7.30 he believed the charges were politically motivated amid tensions between the United States and China. He claimed Australia, as an ally of the US, had a conflict of interest.

"So far as China is concerned, we were conducting joint military exercises at sea between the Royal Australian Navy, and the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy at a time (2010) when Dan Duggan is accused of, as it were, consorting with the enemy. It's double-standard. It's hypocrisy," he said.

"You must agree it makes a good show trial in Washington where the United States system is known for it. If Australia does extradite him we're liable to see him become a pawn in this China game. It is very worrying."

'Now I'm in prison, and no one else is'

The US indictment alleges Mr Duggan received more than $182,000 for providing a range of services, including teaching Chinese pilots how to take off and land on an aircraft carrier.

7.30 put the allegation directly to him.

"I think the better question is, with all due respect, is that 'Was there any training that went on that was illegal?' And the answer to that is an emphatic 'no'.

"There was no, and I repeat, there was no secret information, or proprietary information, or anything like that, it's all public domain, open-source information that anybody if they're interested in, could Google it or look it up on Wikipedia," he told 7.30.

The indictment alleges Mr Duggan trained Chinese military pilots without permission from the US State Department. He's adamant he taught civilian test pilots.

"The truth of it is, that there was nothing wrong. I went as an employee, with other western pilots, including other Australians, and trained civilian Chinese test pilots.

"Test pilots, particularly advanced test pilots are doing training for all sorts of things at the extremes of aviation, such as stall and spin recovery.

"Now I'm in prison, and no one else is. I'm happy that no one else is because they shouldn't be, because there was no law broken," he told 7.30.

He also rejects concealing from authorities the payments he received for the training.

"Now all of a sudden that's laundering money. Money was paid into bank accounts in my name and declared on my taxes.

"I think, if you want to hide payments, you don't declare them on your taxes," he told 7.30.

The Test Flying Academy of South Africa has told 7.30 that none of its training involves classified methods nor any frontline activities or defence services.

The US State Department declined 7.30's request for an interview. A spokesman said as a matter of long-standing policy, the department did not comment publicly on extradition matters.

(continued)

#19237894 at 2023-07-25 12:09:25 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
Family of former US pilot protests outside Sydney court

9 News Australia

Jul 25, 2023

Family and friends of detained former American marine Daniel Duggan have held a peaceful protest outside a Sydney court, as the father fights extradition to the United States.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye02DPZ9pg0

#19237884 at 2023-07-25 12:06:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
Pilot Daniel Duggan in Australia, accused of training Chinese military pilots | 7NEWS

7NEWS Australia

Jul 25, 2023

The wife of a former U.S top gun has choked back tears as her husband fights extradition from Australia to America, accused of training Chinese military pilots. Daniel Duggan has been locked up since late last year. His family and supporters today demanded his immediate release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zzfUu5bYUw

#19237876 at 2023-07-25 12:03:38 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
Court date set for jailed ex-pilot Daniel Duggan to fight US extradition over claims he trained Chinese pilots

Jamie McKinnell - 25 July 2023

The wife of former US marine pilot Daniel Duggan says the impact of his ongoing incarceration on their family is "horrendous".

The 54-year-old denies allegations he helped train Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago, which relate to his work at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa.

As his lawyers argued for a temporary stay of the proceedings in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court, a group of supporters joined Mr Duggan's wife outside.

Saffrine Duggan said they were determined to fight against the "terrible injustice" of her husband being held in custody for nine months since his arrest.

She also demanded that Australian sovereignties be respected.

"This is a loving, caring father having to go through a tragedy and we all need to stand up and stop and let him free," Ms Duggan said.

"Let him come home to us where he belongs."

Ms Duggan said she had received messages of support from around the world.

"The toll on our kids and family is horrendous," she told the crowd.

"We are sad and we're mortified. We're horrified that something like this could happen - not only to us but to anyone."

Inside, barrister Bret Walker SC, representing Mr Duggan, raised arguments about whether there may be a political character to the alleged offence.

Mr Duggan's legal team says the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is investigating the role ASIO played in the lead-up to his arrest, which could impact the case.

Magistrate Daniel Reiss said it was clear there was an objection being raised in relation to an alleged political offence, but he said it was "not a black and white issue in terms of the statutory formulation".

The Extradition Act specifically provides that a respondent be entitled to a reasonable time to prepare for an extradition proceeding, he noted.

An extradition hearing was set for November 24, however, the receipt of the IGIS inquiry report may delay that.

Outside court, lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz, who acts for the Duggan family, said Mr Duggan was stressed - and being told he now has to wait some 120 extra days in solitary confinement would not help.

Dr Kolomeitz said bail was "virtually impossible" under extradition legislation.

"It has its own bail provisions, which require extreme circumstances really to get bail, which flies in the face of the state bail legislation and the presumption in favour of bail in most cases," he said.

Dr Kolomeitz said Mr Duggan and his supporters were all holding out hope that something would stop the extradition.

"The extradition treaty is a disgrace," he said.

"The Extradition Act is a disgrace and the indictment is a disgrace.

"Whatever it takes to make this thing stop, if it's an IGIS inquiry report which is adverse to the Australian government, then so be it."

Dr Kolomeitz said the case "reeks of politics".

"This is a very bad treaty and a very bad piece of legislation which is being exploited by the United States."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-25/ex-pilot-Daniel-Duggan-to-fight-us-extradition-november-24/102646434

#19237833 at 2023-07-25 11:51:46 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
Daniel Duggan: flight school where former US marine taught says syllabus 'totally unclassified'

South African academy defends material as Australian citizen fights extradition to US over allegations he trained Chinese fighter pilots

Ben Doherty - 25 Jul 2023

1/2

The flight school where former marine Daniel Duggan allegedly helped train Chinese fighter pilots insists all of his teaching was legal, in line with international standards and "totally unclassified".

Duggan, 54, a former US marine pilot who is now a naturalised Australian, was arrested in October at the request of the US government, which is seeking his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots at a South African flight school more than a decade ago.

The allegations have not been tested in court.

Duggan, who has not been charged with a crime in Australia and has no criminal history anywhere in the world, denies the charges and is fighting his extradition from prison, a process that could take months or years to resolve.

The father of six faces a potential 60-year prison term if convicted in the US.

The flight school where he taught after resigning from the US Marines - the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) - says it has strict protocols and a code of conduct to ensure no information is shared that might be legally or operationally sensitive - or security classified.

"All TFASA training materials have always been either open source or provided by clients. The syllabus of the course that Mr Duggan was part of delivering was in line with international standards and totally unclassified," a spokesperson for TFASA told Guardian Australia.

Asked whether TFASA believed Duggan's fulfilment of his contract was in keeping with his, and the flight school's, legal obligations, a spokesperson said: "Yes. TFASA has always complied with its legal obligations and worked hard to ensure the same of any and all employees or contractors."

The spokesperson said: "TFASA has had no contact whatsoever with Mr Duggan since the conclusion of the single contract he undertook for the company 10 years ago."

Duggan has been imprisoned for 277 days while he fights extradition and has faced significant isolation, having been classified as a high-risk prisoner.

In March, Australia's inspector general of intelligence and security (IGIS) launched a formal investigation into Duggan's ongoing incarceration and the circumstances of his arrest, after allegations were raised by his legal team he may have been "lured" back to Australia by intelligence officials before his arrest.

Duggan's case returns to court on Tuesday. Barrister Bret Walker SC is expected to appear for Duggan and to argue extradition proceedings should be temporarily stayed while the IGIS investigation is under way.

If that argument is successful, Duggan's legal team expects to make an application for him to be released on bail.

(continued)

#19237815 at 2023-07-25 11:43:16 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
Jailed pilot will rely on novel defence never used in Australia

Georgina Mitchell - July 25, 2023

One of Australia's top barristers will seek to expand the legal definition of a political offence during a challenge to the extradition of Daniel Duggan, an Australian man accused of training Chinese military pilots overseas.

Duggan, 54, has been in custody since October last year after he was arrested at the request of the United States. An indictment in the US accuses him of training pilots when he was an instructor at a South African flight academy between 2010 and 2012.

The father-of-six has denied the allegations, telling the ABC's 7.30 in an interview from Lithgow correctional centre: "I strenuously reject the indictment in its entirety."

"I went as an employee with other western pilots, including other Australians, and trained civilian Chinese test pilots," Duggan said. "Now I'm in prison, and no one else is."

Duggan was a highly-regarded pilot with the US Marine Corps before moving to Australia, where he renounced his US citizenship and became an Australian citizen.

On Tuesday, during a preliminary hearing at Downing Centre Local Court, barrister Bret Walker SC initially indicated he would apply for a temporary stay in Duggan's case, however this did not eventuate and the case was adjourned.

The court heard Duggan's legal team is awaiting the outcome of an inquiry into the case by the spy watchdog, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS).

Walker said he was unable to detail precisely what IGIS was examining, aside from the fact it related to "circumstances subsequent to the alleged offending" and possible cooperation between security agencies in Australia and the United States.

"That fact is, in our submission, well within the orbit of material which may give a political character to the offence in question," Walker said.

Extradition can be challenged on several grounds, including by arguing a person is being extradited to face a political offence. If this is proven, a person may be ineligible for surrender to the requesting country.

Walker said a political offence does not have a precise definition, with the Extradition Act defining it as an offence of a political character because of the circumstances in which it is committed, "or otherwise".

He said no case law exists setting out the interpretation of those two words, "or otherwise".

"This will be it," Walker said. "There's been no case of this kind argued or decided before."

Magistrate Daniel Reiss said the lack of case law suggested the interpretation of the phrase was not as broad as Walker suggested.

"The rarity suggests it's not a very broad definition," Reiss said.

The magistrate adjourned the case to October, with the extradition hearing set down for November 24. Walker indicated there may be a further application for an adjournment.

Speaking outside court on Tuesday morning, Duggan's wife Saffrine said he had been imprisoned for more than nine months "without any Australian charges, convictions, or history of violence - on the say-so of the United States government".

"We are all determined to fight this terrible injustice," she said.

"We're saddened, we're mortified, we're horrified that something like this could happen - not only to us, but to anyone … I would never have thought this could ever happen in Australia."

The case will return to court on October 23.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/jailed-pilot-will-rely-on-novel-defence-never-used-in-australia-20230725-p5dr4p.html

#19237802 at 2023-07-25 11:35:32 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
Ex-US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots fights extradition to the US

Hilary Whiteman, Angus Watson and Paul Devitt - July 24, 2023

1/3

Brisbane, Australia (CNN) - Former Marine Daniel Duggan once flew Harrier jets for the United States, taking off and landing on Navy carriers during international missions as part of Marine Attack Squadron 214, based in Yuma, Arizona.

That was over 20 years ago, but his activity since leaving the service is now the subject of a US indictment that alleges he used his specialist skills to teach Chinese pilots how to land planes on aircraft carriers, claims he denies.

Since last October, Duggan, 54, has been held in a maximum-security prison in regional Australia as his lawyers fight an extradition order, approved by Australia's attorney general, to return him to the US to face trial on charges including money laundering and conspiracy to export US defense services.

On Tuesday, Duggan's lawyers argued for a stay of extradition while Australia's Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) investigates claims of improper action by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), including that Duggan was "lured" from China, where he was living, to Australia, where the US had legal reach to arrest him.

The case comes as the US and its allies seek to unite against China in the Indo-Pacific, where Beijing has been fortifying islands with military installations that they fear may one day be used in a regional conflict.

From Lithgow Correctional Centre, where he's being held, Duggan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that he was "living a nightmare." "I strenuously reject the indictment in its entirety," he said.

Duggan's wife Saffrine wants Australian officials to block his extradition, and on Tuesday she and some of their six children stood outside court, holding signs calling for him to be freed.

"We're horrified that something like this could happen, not only to us, but to anyone," Saffrine Duggan told her supporters.

"I would never have thought this could ever happen in Australia, let alone to our family. My family is brave and strong and so are our friends, and so is my husband, but we are all terribly torn apart."

The allegations

After completing his final mission as a Major with the US Marines, Duggan moved to Australia in 2002. He met Saffrine in 2011, and a year later he became an Australian citizen, renounced his US citizenship, and the family moved to China.

Saffrine and the children moved back to Australia in 2018, and Duggan joined them in September 2022, after receiving Australian security clearance for an aviation licence, his supporters say.

But within weeks, that clearance was revoked and he was taken into custody.

The charges relate to a period between November 2009 and November 2012, when Duggan - then a US citizen - was alleged to have trained Chinese military pilots in China, according to a 2017 indictment that was unsealed last December.

The indictment said that "as early as 2008," Duggan received an email from the US State Department telling him he was required to register with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and apply for permission to train a foreign air force.

Instead, it claims he conspired with others - including the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) - to export defense services in violation of an arms embargo on China.

In a statement to CNN, TFASA said it complies with the laws of every jurisdiction in which it operates.

The statement said Duggan undertook one test pilot contract for the company in South Africa between November and December 2012, and "never worked for TFASA on any of its training mandates in China."

(continued)

#19237763 at 2023-07-25 11:21:52 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
Former top gun pilot Daniel Duggan fights 'political extradition' to United States

REMY VARGA - JULY 25, 2023

Former top gun pilot Daniel Duggan's lawyers say there is a political character to the charges against their client and will present expert evidence on deteriorating relations between the United States and China.

Lawyers for the 54-year-old Australian citizen are fighting his extradition to the United States to face charges over the alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots.

Duggan's supporters gathered on the steps of Sydney's Downing Centre on Tuesday ahead of the hearing, brandishing a banner emblazoned with the Orange father's face that said "Free Dan Duggan".

Inside court Mr Duggan's lawyer, top silk Bret Walker SC, said he was unable to discuss in open court all of the material given to the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, which is investigating alleged misconduct by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

Lawyers for Mr Duggan are seeking to halt the extradition until the IGS investigation has completed.

Mt Walker said the alleged offending and conduct after the offending involved co-operation with security agencies that may "give a political character to the offence in question."

"Your honour should not proceed on the basis that is confined to conduct in Australia," Mr Walker said, before clarifying the conduct was "in the interest of Australia".

The court heard that the deterioration in the diplomatic relationship between China and the US since the alleged conduct would form part of the case, with Mr Walker saying he would "gather experts on those matters".

Mr Walker said his submissions would ask whether "a political character can be given after all the circumstances of the commission of offence have happened".

Magistrate Daniel Reiss said the relevance of material handed to IGS may be relevant as to whether the charges against Mr Duggan were political and noted such offences were a rarity.

"It's a door that's not sought very often to be opened and walked through," he said.

Mr Duggan was arrested by the Australian Federal Police at the request of US authorities in Orange in NSW in October last year and has spent the majority of his time in solitary confinement.

The 54-year-old has denied allegations he received 12 payments of more than $116,000 from a Chinese-based business which was responsible for acquiring military training, equipment and technical data for China's government and military, for "personal development training".

The offences are alleged to have occurred before Mr Duggan became an Australian citizen in late 2012 and his legal team have previously said the charges are not crimes in Australia.

Mr Duggan has further accused the US of trying to turn him into a "political example" amid deteriorating international relations with China.

The hearing will resume at 2pm.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/former-top-gun-pilot-Daniel-Duggan-fights-political-extradition-to-united-states/news-story/cb1fb3830f4ae10eaac858428a3dccdb

#19226545 at 2023-07-23 11:23:41 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19226522
Australian 'Top Gun' accused of training Chinese is backed by US marine

Georgina Mitchell - July 23, 2023

A former high-ranking member of the United States military has thrown his support behind Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen and former marine who is being held in maximum security over accusations he trained Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago.

Duggan, 54, who lives near Orange in regional NSW with his wife and six children, has been in custody since October last year after the US indicated it would request his extradition. He denies any wrongdoing.

His lawyers have indicated he will challenge the extradition on at least two grounds: that the case against him is a political one, which would make him ineligible for surrender overseas, and because the charges against him do not exist in Australia, a requirement known as dual criminality.

In a letter written last week, retired marine colonel Ben Hancock said he had known Duggan for 25 years, including serving in the same squadron for two years, working closely on a six-month ship deployment, and being deployed in Kuwait.

He described Duggan as a "loyal patriot" and team player who served the US honourably and could be counted on in difficult circumstances.

"Dan literally risked his life almost daily while flying the AV-8B Harrier jet countless times at sea, at night, in poor weather and no place to land except back on the US Navy ship," Hancock said.

"He did everything I asked him to and more. He was an officer I could count on in both peacetime operations and in combat, and I trusted my life to him while flying together. I do not believe him to be anything but a hard-working, loyal and dedicated individual."

Hancock said Duggan had been a "highly trained and skilled" pilot specialising in weapons and tactics, who voluntarily extended his time in the marine corps to deploy overseas.

He said he had kept in touch with Duggan over email, and was "very surprised" to read the allegations about him in media reports.

"The allegations do not match the character of the Dan Duggan that I knew and respected as a US marine," Hancock said. "I look forward to the dismissal of these charges and Dan returning home to his wife and children."

The US wants Duggan to be extradited over claims he trained Chinese pilots through a South African flight school between 2011 and 2012, without seeking authorisation from the US government.

Duggan became an Australian citizen in 2012 and has renounced his US citizenship.

In March, national spy watchdog the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) confirmed it had launched a formal inquiry into the circumstances of Duggan's case, including his contact with Australian security agencies.

Duggan's lawyer, Dennis Miralis, previously raised concerns that ASIO may have acted "illegally or improperly" in dealings with Duggan over an extended period of time, including luring him back to Australia to be arrested.

The extradition proceedings will return to Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, where barrister Bret Walker, SC, will appear for Duggan.

Walker is expected to argue that the extradition proceedings should be temporarily stayed while the IGIS investigation takes place. If this argument is successful, there will be an application for Duggan to be released on bail.

Duggan's family was recently able to visit him at Lithgow Correctional Centre, the first time they had seen him in the months since his arrest.

He was initially classified as an "extreme high-risk restricted inmate" in October 2022. This status was revoked two months later, but his maximum security classification remains.

Duggan formerly operated Top Gun Tasmania, a business in Hobart offering scenic flights in fighter planes.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/australian-top-gun-accused-of-training-chinese-is-backed-by-us-marine-20230722-p5dqf2.html

#19188929 at 2023-07-16 09:42:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#30 - Part 67
Australia / China Tensions - Part 5
>>19051180 Parliamentary plea for former pilot's prison release - A supporter of an Australian citizen facing extradition to the US on conspiracy charges has called for his release from prison in an emotional speech to parliament. Former marine Daniel Duggan was arrested in October 2022 after the US government accused him of money laundering and committing offences under US arms export control laws. Mr Duggan's wife Saffrine and his friend Warwick Ponder were on the floor of the Senate on Thursday during a speech by the Greens' David Shoebridge urging the US to release him from custody, where he has been in solitary confinement. "In the last few weeks, he's seen the sky only a handful of times but has otherwise been locked up completely alone. There are grave concerns with Dan's wellbeing," Senator Shoebridge told parliament.
>>19069501 Taiwan calls on Australia to send military attache to Taipei over China threats - Taiwan's Foreign Minister has called on Canberra to install a military attache in the Australian Office in Taipei to help the two liberal democracies work together to prevent "the worst from happening" amid sustained threats of war from China. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told The Australian that President Tsai Ing-wen's government wanted Canberra to station a military officer in its de facto embassy in Taipei to liaise with Taiwanese security agencies, as countries including the US, Japan and Singapore have for decades. "I think it is very important when the Australian government is paying so much more attention to the regional security issues for the two countries to be able to share their observations, their assessment of the situation," he told The Australian in an exclusive interview in Taipei.
>>19069536 China virus researchers were working on defence projects, declassified US intelligence says - Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers were working on defensive and biosecurity projects for the Chinese military and were not taking adequate biosafety precautions while handling coronaviruses, intelligence declassified by the United States has confirmed. The intelligence report on the potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the pandemic was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence late on Friday US-time, when Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to China had concluded. The report, which reveals the CIA is unable to determine whether a lab-leak or natural contact with an infected animal spawned the pandemic, was published after Congress voted unanimously to declassify the intelligence. - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au
>>19087765 Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles landing in Solomon Islands for talks on the future of Australia's defence presence - Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has suggested Australian troops and police might stay in Solomon Islands beyond this year, in a sign the federal government could push for an enduring security presence in the Pacific Island nation. Mr Marles will land in the country's capital Honiara later today for a two-day visit, where he'll hold talks with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and meet Australian police and soldiers deployed there. Both Australian Defence Force and Australian Federal Police personnel were sent to Honiara in late 2021, when Mr Sogavare asked for help to restore order after major riots broke out. Last year China's government supplied dozens of motorbikes and two water cannon trucks to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, as well as expanding training programs for local police both in China and across multiple provinces in Solomon Islands.
>>19094004 Bondi man Alexander Csergo was warned to leave China by American contact he suspected was a spy - A Sydney businessman accused of selling Australian defence and security secrets in China was warned to leave the country immediately by an American contact who he suspected was a US intelligence operative, his lawyer told a Sydney court. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) charged the man, Alexander Csergo, 55, with one count of reckless foreign interference in April. Mr Csergo is the first person to be charged with the offence, which attracts a jail term of up to 15 years under laws introduced by the Turnbull government in 2018.

#19188923 at 2023-07-16 09:41:04 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#30 - Part 63
Australia / China Tensions - Part 1
>>18929002 Australian citizen Daniel Duggan is accused of training Chinese military pilots by the US. His wife alleges he's caught in a 'political power play' - Daniel Duggan was born in the United States and served as a pilot in the Marines between 1989 and 2002. He's been an Australian citizen since 2012. He's now in custody in Lithgow Correctional Centre in NSW pending extradition to the US on charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering. "He 100 per cent denies all accusations," Ms Duggan told 7.30. Key to the US government's pursuit of Mr Duggan is his time as a contractor with the Test Flying Academy of South Africa between 2010 and 2012. Mr Duggan says he provided training to civilian aviators. But in its indictment, the US government alleges the flying school had a contract with a state-owned entity in China to deliver training to military pilots.
>>18929024 Video: Wife of former US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots by the US speaks out | 7.30 - Last October Australian authorities, acting on a request from the United States, arrested former Marine pilot Daniel Duggan for allegedly training pilots from the Chinese military. Duggan is being held in a maximum-security prison while he fights extradition to America. This report by Angelique Donnellan and Xanthe Kleinig. - ABC News In-depth
>>18939663 Closer China-Australia ties will not come at Taiwan's expense: Former Australian PM - "Taiwanese perspectives and experience are more important than ever," according to former Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull. Turnbull is in Taiwan for the first time to attend the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation (CAPRI) 2023 Annual Forum on Monday (May 29). When Taiwan News asked Turnbull if he thought improvements in the Australia-China relationship would come at the expense of Australia's relationship with Taiwan, Turnbull said he did not. "The Australian Government under (Prime Minister) Albanese has not taken one backward step on matters of substance as far as China's concerned," he said, but "what has changed is the rhetoric."
>>18939695 Let's not forget Taiwan as we kowtow to China on trade - "Few countries understand China's military thinking better than Taiwan. We run the risk of being called on to defend one of the few genuinely successful liberal democracies in the Indo-Pacific without having any substantive military or intelligence relationship. If Australia was serious about reducing the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific, the best way to do this would be to help Taiwan strengthen its own military forces. The bilateral relationship needs to be rethought. A start would be to send Trade Minister Don Farrell to Taipei to discuss Taiwan's proposed membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. It's also time to reopen discussion of a free-trade agreement. The absence of one with our fifth largest export market is, to use a technical trade term, crazy." - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au
>>18939721 Battle lines drawn on Albanese going to China - Now that the prime minister has received an official invitation to visit Beijing later this year, the political and diplomatic lines are being drawn. China's informal bans on coal, copper, timber and cotton have eased, but restrictions on wine and live lobsters remain. All eyes are now on China's expedited review of the tariffs it placed on barley. But consider this hypothetical: if the trade bans are all lifted before Albanese steps onto the tarmac in Beijing, "the result will be pocketed, with thanks, and soon forgotten". Which could mean that the visit's focus becomes the two Australians detained in China on murky charges: Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun. Their imminent release is paramount: achieving it by the time the visit takes place, however, will prove difficult. In that case, Albanese will have to press the matter privately with Chinese leaders. This is a powerful bargaining chip in China's uncaring hands.
>>18939748 'No timeframe or conditions' on Albanese's visit to China - Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says there is no timeframe or conditions on Anthony Albanese's upcoming visit to China, signalling the Australian government was managing expectations of trade sanction relief and the release of two detained Australians. The federal opposition has called on the government to secure a guarantee that all $20 billion in trade sanctions on half a dozen industries will be lifted by Beijing before the prime minister travels. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham has also labelled the ongoing detention of Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun "unacceptable".

#18422562 at 2023-02-28 05:52:17 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#27 - Part 32
Australia / China Tensions - Part 7
>>18386924 Chinese billionaire Jack Ma jets out of Australia after 'personal trip' - Elusive Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma has left Australia after a "personal trip", the Alibaba founder's first visit in six years to a country he has credited with changing his life
>>18386964 Alibaba founder Jack Ma visits old friends in Australia - Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and one of China's richest men, has made a personal visit to Australia to see the family that befriended him before he founded his multibillion dollar e-commerce empire
>>18386981 Ma spotted Down Under visiting mentor's family - Jack Ma Yun, the founder of the world's largest e-commerce platform Alibaba, is said to have visited the family of his late friend Ken Morley, who Ma said changed his life, in Australia - Ma met Morley, an engineer, in 1980 when Morley and his family visited Hangzhou. Ma was 15 at the time - Ma, who later became an English teacher before founding Alibaba, came up to Morley's son, David, and asked if he could practice English with him - Morley senior has since been Ma's friend, teacher and mentor. The family helped Ma with his English through years of correspondence - In 1985, Morley invited Ma to Australia for his first overseas trip. Ma said the trip to Newcastle opened his eyes to the world and inspired him
>>18392865 Security boss pulls no punches on growing national threats - Australia's balancing act in the great power competition between the US and China means it is now a primary target for espionage and foreign interference - This was now the greatest security threat facing the nation, according to ASIO director-general Mike Burgess - And not enough Australians were taking it seriously enough
>>18392901 Australian spy chief says veterans training rivals are 'top tools' not 'top guns' - Australia's spy chief has hit out at former military pilots who turn to working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "lackeys, more 'top tools' than 'top guns'" in his annual security threat assessment - A former U.S. marine pilot, Daniel Duggan, is fighting extradition from Australia to the United States, where he faces charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers - He has denied breaking any law

>>18392938 Victoria prepares for potential purge of Chinese-made CCTV cameras - The Andrews government is conducting an audit of all security cameras at government-owned sites in Victoria to determine if any have links to Chinese state-owned companies and need to be replaced
>>18392962 Whatever it takes on Defence: Anthony Albanese - Anthony Albanese will deliver his strongest endorsement of the AUKUS security pact, pledging to fund the Australian Defence Force to 'deter aggressors' - Amid unprecedented geostrategic competition between China and the US in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Albanese will say AUKUS presents a "whole-of-nation opportunity: for new jobs, new industries and new expertise in science and technology and cyber"
>>18401566 Victoria Police to replace all Chinese-made cameras by end of 2024 - Victoria Police has confirmed it will replace all Chinese-made cameras by the end of next year amid a growing debate about how best to counter foreign intelligence gathering - The force said a number of cameras were still operating across the state and despite being deemed low risk, would be progressively replaced
>>18402299 Pacific Islands Forum 'one big family' as leaders meet and select new leader amid intense US-China competition - Former Nauru president Baron Waqa - who famously clashed with a Chinese diplomat and accused Beijing of bullying smaller countries - will take the reins of the Pacific's peak regional body next year, after a special Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Fiji
>>18407970 Australia holding former 'top gun' pilot in 'inhumane' conditions, UN told - Australia has breached an international treaty on human rights by holding a former US military pilot in degrading conditions next to convicted violent offenders, his lawyers claim in a complaint to the United Nations - The UN Human Rights Committee is being urged to investigate the treatment of Daniel Duggan in a NSW prison after he was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of American authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets
>>18407998 FreeDanDuggan Tweet: Great sentiment from @PaulKeatingPM about Australian sovereignty. Locking up Australians in NSW max security at the behest of the US, without conviction is not okay @Dom_Perrottet @MarkDreyfusKCMP @GeoffLeeMP @AlboMP #FreeDanDuggan

#18422561 at 2023-02-28 05:51:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#27 - Part 31
Australia / China Tensions - Part 6
>>18338130 Former fighter pilot to fight extradition to US - A former US fighter pilot will fight his extradition to the US, following allegations he was providing the Chinese military with air traffic training, in what is set to be a lengthy court battle - Australian citizen Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, has been in custody for more than 100 days over allegations he received 12 payments of more than $116,000 from a Chinese-based business which was responsible for acquiring military training, equipment and technical data for China's government and military, for "personal development training"
>>18344205 Chinese-made cameras found in 88 MP offices - Eighty-eight Chinese-made surveillance cameras have been found in the offices of federal parliamentarians, with the Department of Finance racing to remove them - The government has confirmed 122 Hikvision or Dahua devices - mainly surveillance cameras and intercoms - have been installed in 88 federal electorate offices, where members of the public come to meet their elected representatives
>>18344255 Ex-marine fights extradition from 'inhumane' prison - The wife of a former US fighter pilot claims he has been locked up in "inhumane conditions" as he fights extradition to the United States to face allegations he aided the Chinese military - Saffrine Duggan said her husband Daniel Duggan had already been kept 115 days in a "tiny cell" in Sydney's Silverwater prison based on US charges that had yet to be tested in court
>>18350532 Australia will tighten laws to stop leaking of military secrets - The federal government will develop new laws to ensure it is illegal for current and former Australian Defence Force personnel to provide military secrets to foreign powers such as China - The new laws come after Australian citizen Daniel Duggan, a former US Marine pilot, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of US authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets
>>18363023 Punish China's human rights atrocity: Morrison - Scott Morrison has called on the Albanese government to consider sanctions against Chinese government officials over human rights abuses against Uighur minorities under the same Magnitsky-style laws used to sanction Russian officials over the invasion of Ukraine

>>18363029 Scott Morrison, in Tokyo, to warn China would start war with 'bits and bytes' not bullets - Former prime minister Scott Morrison has warned that any war started by China would not begin with bullets, but with "bits and bytes", and that Beijing would first disable military systems and civil infrastructure
>>18374615 Govt departments removing China-linked CCTV and recording devices - The federal government is quietly stripping out every one of the almost 1000 Hikvision and Dahua devices found in government buildings across the country, as the extent of the links between the two companies and the Chinese Communist Party is revealed
>>18374624 Leaked documents from Canadian spy agency reveal Chinese election interference operation - Australia has been put on alert by Canada's spy agency after it uncovered a Chinese plot to interfere in Justin Trudeau's 2021 election victory
>>18380460 US is spying on you, China tells New Zealand - China has sent a letter to New Zealand MPs accusing the US of "massive, non-discriminate wire-tapping and secret theft operations globally, including against its allies", arguing Washington had used the downing of a Chinese spy balloon as an excuse to impose sanctions on Chinese companies
>>18386784 China is carrying out 'blatant' influence operations in Australia, Malcolm Turnbull says - Australian security agencies know China is carrying out "blatant" influence operations despite the lack of listings on the country's transparency register, the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has told an inquiry - Turnbull said he was "puzzled" the legislation his government introduced was not more rigorously enforced and that officials should not treat it as a "robotic box-ticking exercise"
>>18386818 Federal government blocks access to Darwin Port advice given to Prime Minister's office, citing national security risks - Following Labor's election victory last year, Anthony Albanese announced a fresh review into the circumstances surrounding the 99-year lease of the port to Chinese company Landbridge in 2015 - The federal government has refused to release advice given to the prime minister's office about possible "paths forward" for the Darwin Port on the grounds it could "cause damage to the defence of the Commonwealth"

#18422560 at 2023-02-28 05:51:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#27 - Part 30
Australia / China Tensions - Part 5
>>18318347 Chinese-owned surveillance cameras operational in Australia since 2018 - The federal government has called for an end to politicking as it reveals Australia was first made aware of Chinese-owned surveillance technologies operating in the country's defence buildings as early as 2018 - The opposition has put pressure on the Albanese government after a Liberal-sanctioned audit revealed more than 900 Hikvision and Dahua devices were operational across departmental offices
>>18318363 Chinese government-linked security cameras installed in Tasmanian parliamentary offices; Greens call for removal - The federal government plans to remove cameras and security gear made by Hikvision and Dahua after they were banned in the United States and the United Kingdom amid fears they may contain spyware - It is feared data collected by the cameras may end up going to China, a claim the two companies say is not possible - Tasmanian Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said she had been raising concerns about Hikvision surveillance systems in Tasmania's Parliament since 2020
>>18318398 Beijing says Australia's removal of cameras an 'abuse of state power' - China's Foreign Ministry has accused the Australian government of abusing state power after it ordered the removal of security cameras linked to Chinese companies from government offices - China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning accused the Australian government of discriminating against Chinese products - "We oppose erroneous practices of over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to discriminate against and suppress Chinese companies"
>>18318424 Australia urged to create fair climate for Chinese firms - China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged Australia to create a fair environment for Chinese companies and do more things conducive to mutual trust and cooperation, in response to questions about Australia's removal of China-made surveillance cameras from the defense department - Qi Xijia - globaltimes.cn
>>18318424 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on February 9, 2023

>>18324824 With China looming, U.S. signs MoU with another Pacific island state - The United States has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Federated States of Micronesia, reflecting a shared understanding on future U.S. assistance to the Pacific island country that Washington is anxious to keep out of China's orbit
>>18324841 Australia-Indonesia pact likely to raise Beijing concerns - Australia and Indonesia will negotiate a legally binding defence treaty to strengthen the interoperability of the nations' military forces in a move likely to raise concerns in Beijing - The agreement would enable reciprocal access of each nation's forces to the other's training ranges, streamlining joint training between the ADF and Indonesia's 400,000-personnel military
>>18330580 Former marine held in Australian prison says US making him a 'political example' - A former military pilot who has been imprisoned in Australia for more than 100 days has accused the United States government of trying to make a political example of him, questioning why he has been classified as an extremely high security risk resulting in his arms and legs being shackled - Australian citizen Daniel Duggan was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of US authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets
>>18338089 Chinese cameras stripped out of Defence sites - Forty-two suspect Chinese-made cameras have been stripped out of Defence sites across Australia, including from highly sensitive locations such as the submarine base at HMAS Stirling, the Air Warfare Centre at RAAF Base Edinburgh, and the home of Australia's Special Air Service Regiment, the Campbell Barracks
>>18338112 Canberra should cherish new positivity in China-Australia economic ties - "Without any evidence to prove that those "particular cameras" pose threat to national security, those devices shouldn't be treated unequally just because they come from Chinese companies - Canberra should resist the pressure from Washington, try to manage irrational voices domestically, and continue to push China-Australia relations back on track" - Hu Weijia - globaltimes.cn

#18422554 at 2023-02-28 05:48:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#27 - Part 26
Australia / China Tensions - Part 1
>>18046802 Video: NetEase News 2022 Recap - On this very last day of the year, we decided to continue NetEase News's 2022 legacy recap which now has been 404ed in China. We hope that everyone can really reflect the year 2022 and live better in 2023. - The Great Translation Movement
>>18064786 PDF: Pilot Daniel Duggan paid $116,000 to train Chinese aviators, US claims - A former US military pilot arrested in Australia was paid more than $116,000 to train People's Republic of China pilots to take off and land on aircraft carriers, the US government alleges
>>18079456 US security vs Aussie citizenship in Duggan case - The arrest of Australian citizen Daniel Duggan, and a subsequent US extradition request on charges Duggan allegedly engaged in several counts of providing unauthorised military services to Chinese pilots, gives some clues as to what Australia's AUKUS legal criminal security framework may look like
>>18079534 Five things Australia has wrong on China and COVID-19 - For a start, it's nonsense that Beijing is hiding the true extent of infections across the country, writes the Chinese government's consul general in Sydney - Zhou Limin, the Chinese government's consul general based in Sydney - afr.com
>>18079537 Vicky Xu Tweet: Shame on @FinancialReview for printing this garbage - If you want to get the Chinese POV, at the very least send a journalist to talk to the consul general and ask questions that will challenge the lies somewhat - What's the point of straight up printing Beijing's propaganda?
>>18086696 US sending delegation to Taiwan for trade talks led by Terry McCartin, assistant US trade representative for China affairs, in a move sure to anger China
>>18102843 60 Minutes 'Chinese spy' Liqiang Wang refused asylum in Australia - He stunned Australians across the country when he made bold claims of espionage on prime time television, but now Liqiang "William" Wang is facing deportation back to China

>>18102846 (2019) WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Chinese spy spills secrets to expose Communist espionage - A Chinese spy defects to Australia. His shocking revelations are guaranteed to infuriate Beijing. How China conducts questionable activities around the world, including its attempts to infiltrate the Australian government - 60 Minutes Australia
>>18108849 WeChat and Tiktok: Social media key Beijing weapon in war of information - By building the Great Fire Wall from the global internet, and exploiting freedom of communication in the West with billions spent on external propaganda to enhance its "international discourse power", China brings a bazooka to the ideology fight, while we debate whether to ban WeChat and Tiktok. - Han Yang, former Chinese junior diplomat living in Sydney - theaustralian.com.au
>>18115403 Australian fighter pilot Daniel Duggan accused of providing military training to Chinese pilots, now fighting extradition to the US - Vows to contest all allegations in an American court if necessary, lawyer Dennis Miralis says
>>18115520 'Beware the sting in China's tale' - Ahead of a key address by China's ambassador today, his Japanese counterpart, Shingo Yamagami warns Australia to remain 'vigilant' amid Beijing's continued aggression in the Pacific
>>18115546 Worry about Japan not China, says Beijing's top envoy in Australia - China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian has launched an extraordinary attack on Japan, warning Australians against becoming too trusting of their former World War II adversary and declaring Japan is a greater military threat than China
>>18115570 Chinese ambassador invokes WWII in quarrel with Japanese counterpart, suggests trade bans may lift - China's ambassador Xiao Qian has criticised his Japanese counterpart, Shingo Yamagami, accusing him of not doing his job properly and suggesting Tokyo may once again launch a military attack on Australia in the future
>>18115594 'Wolf warrior' Zhao Lijian given a 'lateral demotion" by Chinese Foreign Ministry - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has been given a "lateral demotion" to a nearly invisible bureaucratic role, ending his time as China's most infamous "wolf warrior" diplomat - Mr Zhao, who caused a diplomatic dispute when he posted a doctored photo depicting an Australian soldier threatening to slit a child's throat, has been relocated to the Foreign Ministry's Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs
>>18128976 Australia Denies Asylum to Defecting Chinese Spy Wang Liqiang - 'Real and chilling impact' and 'setting a very bad precedent,' says Jennifer Zeng, Australian Chinese writer and YouTuber

#18422540 at 2023-02-28 05:42:41 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#27 - Part 17
Australian Politics and Society - Part 17
>>18386885 Video: Drug Enforcement Administration agents sent back to America after complaint - Two Sydney-based agents from the American Drug Enforcement Administration are being sent home after the Australian Federal Police complained to US ambassador Caroline Kennedy about methods of investigating a massive drug importation - The DEA agents have not been accused of wrongdoing but the AFP fears their investigation techniques may have impacted on operations, particularly involving a major cocaine shipment destined for Western Australia and NSW
>>18387936 Sky News host reduced to fit of laughter by Biden video - Sky News Australia host Rita Panahi burst into laughter live on air after viewing a montage of US President Joe Biden's most memorable blunders
>>18392801 'It feels like hand-to-hand combat': ASIO boss warns on spy hives, foreign interference - ASIO boss Mike Burgess has warned Australians to be vigilant as he revealed the nation is experiencing the highest level of foreign interference, espionage and terrorism in its history, surpassing the Cold War, September 11 and the height of the Islamic State caliphate
>>18392821 Video: Annual Threat Assessment 2023 - Director-General of Security - The Director-General of Security Mike Burgess delivered his fourth Annual Threat Assessment on 21 February 2023 from ASIO headquarters at the Ben Chifley Building - Australian Security Intelligence Organisation
>>18392839 Judges, journalists and military veterans targeted in 'unprecedented' spy threat on Australia - Journalists, military veterans and judicial figures are being targeted by foreign espionage agencies at "unprecedented" levels, with the country's intelligence chief revealing a "hive of spies" was removed from Australia in the past year - In his annual threat assessment, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has also hit out at former military personnel who have put "cash before country" by working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "top tools" more than "top guns"

>>18392853 ASIO urged to 'ease up' on foreign spies: Mike Burgess - Australia's top spy Mike Burgess was directly pressured by public servants, academics and business identities to "ease up" on ASIO's foreign interference and espionage operations, despite judicial figures, journalists, veterans and diaspora communities being targeted in record numbers by foreign spies and agents
>>18392865 Security boss pulls no punches on growing national threats - Australia's balancing act in the great power competition between the US and China means it is now a primary target for espionage and foreign interference - This was now the greatest security threat facing the nation, according to ASIO director-general Mike Burgess - And not enough Australians were taking it seriously enough
>>18392901 Australian spy chief says veterans training rivals are 'top tools' not 'top guns' - Australia's spy chief has hit out at former military pilots who turn to working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "lackeys, more 'top tools' than 'top guns'" in his annual security threat assessment - A former U.S. marine pilot, Daniel Duggan, is fighting extradition from Australia to the United States, where he faces charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers. He has denied breaking any law
>>18392962 Whatever it takes on Defence: Anthony Albanese - Anthony Albanese will deliver his strongest endorsement of the AUKUS security pact, pledging to fund the Australian Defence Force to 'deter aggressors' - Amid unprecedented geostrategic competition between China and the US in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Albanese will say AUKUS presents a "whole-of-nation opportunity: for new jobs, new industries and new expertise in science and technology and cyber"
>>18392986 At the heart of Linda Reynolds' story is a gross hypocrisy - "At the heart of Linda Reynolds' story is a gross and gendered hypocrisy. The same women, very senior women within Labor's ranks, who talk a lot about wanting a safer, fairer workplace culture in parliament, perpetrated a cruel and unrelenting attack on their workplace colleague. What Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher did to Reynolds is recorded in Hansard. The attacks were relentless, over days and weeks and months. The implications were devastating: that Reynolds had covered up the alleged rape of a young staffer; that she had threatened Brittany Higgins' employment in a wholly inappropriate way. The results were predictable, with Reynolds breaking down, admitted to hospital, on sick leave." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

#18407970 at 2023-02-25 11:06:18 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18064786
>>18392801
>>18392901
Australia holding former 'top gun' pilot in 'inhumane' conditions, UN told

Anthony Galloway - February 25, 2023

1/2

Australia has breached an international treaty on human rights by holding a former US military pilot in degrading conditions next to convicted violent offenders, his lawyers claim in a complaint to the United Nations.

The UN Human Rights Committee is being urged to investigate the treatment of Daniel Duggan in a NSW prison after he was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of American authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets.

The complaint comes after Australia's domestic spy chief, Mike Burgess, this week said his agency had been tracking a "small but concerning number" of military insiders willing to "put cash before country".

Duggan, a 54-year-old Australian citizen who lives on a farm outside Orange in NSW with his wife and six children, denies the allegations and claims the United States is trying to make a political example of him.

In a submission sent to the UN body on February 15, Duggan's lawyers claim his treatment in prison - where he is confined in a two-by-four-metre cell - constitutes four breaches of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

These include the failure to protect him from "inhumane or degrading" treatment, failure to segregate him from convicted prisoners, the violation of his right to adequate facilities to prepare his legal defence and a denial of his right to confidential communication.

The submission also states that a clinical psychologist who interviewed and assessed Duggan in Silverwater prison in Sydney had diagnosed him with severe adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression.

"The psychologist described Mr Duggan's conditions as 'extreme' and 'inhumane'. He advised that Mr Duggan was at risk of a major depressive disorder," the submission states.

The submission raises issue with the fact that Duggan, who served in the US Marine Corps between 1989 and 2002 before moving to Australia, was classed as an "extreme high risk" prisoner by the commissioner of NSW Corrective Services on October 31, 10 days after his arrest.

The submission resulted in his arms and legs being shackled to his waist when he was moved by guards within the prison.

His lawyer Dennis Miralis has previously said he was pursuing whether there had been "any foreign interference in that designation, in a way that is not in accordance with the law", which suggests that he suspects the request came from the US.

(continued)

#18392901 at 2023-02-22 08:05:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18064786
>>18392801
>>18392821
Australian spy chief says veterans training rivals are 'top tools' not 'top guns'

Kirsty Needham - February 21, 2023

CANBERRA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Australia's spy chief has hit out at former military pilots who turn to working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "lackeys, more 'top tools' than 'top guns'" in his annual security threat assessment.

A former U.S. marine pilot, Daniel Duggan, is fighting extradition from Australia to the United States, where he faces charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers. He has denied breaking any law.

Britain has also cracked down on its former military pilots working for China.

In a speech in Canberra on Tuesday, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's director general of security, Mike Burgess, said the agency had been tracking a "small but concerning number" of defence insiders willing to "put cash before country".

Australians had been offered hundreds of thousands of dollars to help authoritarian regimes improve their combat skills, he said.

"These individuals are lackeys, more 'top tools' than 'top guns'. Selling our warfighting skills is no different to selling our secrets - especially when the training and tactics are being transferred to countries that will use them to close capability gaps, and could use them against us or our allies at some time in the future," he said.

The ASIO and its partners had stopped some former defence staff travelling overseas to conduct such training, but in other cases "legal ambiguities have impeded law enforcement's ability to intervene".

Australia's defence minister, Richard Marles, said this month the government would tighten the law.

In his annual speech, Burgess said more Australians were being targeted by espionage and foreign interference than at any time in the history of the spy agency, and it had disrupted a "major spy network" in the past 12 months.

"As we progress AUKUS, it's critical our allies know we can keep our secrets, and keep their secrets," he said, referring to a defence technology alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to transfer nuclear submarine technology to Australia.

The media was also an espionage target, he said.

"We have seen repeated attempts to hack into scores of Australian media outlets - so many, it appears to be a concerted campaign," he said.

While the intent was not clear, ASIO assessed the hackers were looking for early warning of reports relevant to the foreign government behind the hackers, and the identities of journalists' sources, including critics of the foreign regime, which he did not name.

Foreign intelligence services were also seeking to influence or coerce media through offers of funding, and ASIO had blocked what he said was a plot to exploit journalists through a funded overseas trip.

The Indo-Pacific region was home to the world's fastest growing populations and economies, and also the fastest military build ups, amid competition between Australia's security ally the United States, and China, he said.

These dynamics were driving a thirst for information and covert influence in Australia by other countries, he said.

"They are using espionage to recruit to their own cause elected officials, public servants, well placed individuals in business, and leaders in our communities."

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australian-spy-chief-says-veterans-training-rivals-are-top-tools-not-top-guns-2023-02-21/

#18350532 at 2023-02-15 09:11:04 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18064786
Australia will tighten laws to stop leaking of military secrets

Matthew Knott - February 15, 2023

The federal government will develop new laws to ensure it is illegal for current and former Australian Defence Force personnel to provide military secrets to foreign powers such as China.

Defence Minister Richard Marles commissioned a review last year from the Australian Federal Police and ASIO after reports emerged that China had approached former Australian and British fighter pilots to provide training to Chinese personnel.

Marles said on Wednesday he had received the classified ASIO-AFP report and would soon introduce legislation to ensure foreign governments could not access Australia's military secrets.

"This is obviously a concerning set of circumstances, and we need to make sure we have the most robust policies in place," Marles told 2GB radio on Wednesday morning.

"It matters that Australia's secrets are maintained."

Marles declined to confirm whether China had tried to lure former ADF pilots to provide military training.

While he said Australia already has "robust policies and laws in place" regarding the protection of military secrets, the review found they need to be tightened.

The new legislation would "remove any doubt about the breadth of secrets that need to be maintained" when former Australian military personnel interact with foreign governments, Marles said.

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie welcomed the prospect of fresh legislation but questioned why the government had taken four months to act since initial reports emerged of Australian fighter pilots being approached by Chinese interests to train China's People's Liberation Army.

"Our national military secrets - including tactics, techniques and procedures - are not for sale," Hastie said.

"Former ADF personnel who have served in classified and sensitive capabilities should be prohibited from working for a foreign power."

The new laws come after Australian citizen Daniel Duggan, a former US Marine pilot, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of US authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets.

Duggan, who served in the US Marine Corps between 1989 and 2002 before moving to Australia, denies the allegation and has accused the United States government of trying to make a political example of him.

Attorney-General Mark Dre?y?fus in December complied with Washington's extradition request for Duggan, meaning he will need to be handed over unless his lawyers can establish that the extradition would be unlawful.

Duggan, who has been imprisoned for more than 100 days, has been indicted in the US on charges including conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money and violating the arms export control act.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-will-tighten-laws-to-stop-leaking-of-military-secrets-20230215-p5ckqx.html

#18344255 at 2023-02-14 09:19:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18064786
Ex-marine fights extradition from 'inhumane' prison

Miklos Bolza - February 13, 2023

The wife of a former US fighter pilot claims he has been locked up in "inhumane conditions" as he fights extradition to the United States to face allegations he aided the Chinese military.

Saffrine Duggan said her husband Daniel Duggan had already been kept 115 days in a "tiny cell" in Sydney's Silverwater prison based on US charges that had yet to be tested in court.

"He is suffering the harshest possible prison classification in Australia as an 'extreme high risk restricted inmate' despite having no prior (or current) convictions," she said in a statement.

"This is unprecedented and an affront to Australia's rule of law and manipulation of the Australian legal system by the United States, at the expense of the Australian taxpayer."

Already filing a complaint with the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Mrs Duggan said a further complaint would be filed with the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

"The manner and circumstances behind this prosecution of Dan are something you would expect to find in an authoritarian country, but not in a democratic Australia where its citizens expect a more fair and balanced equal application of the law and the overriding principle of a 'fair go' for all," she said.

Duggan, 54, was arrested in October last year near his family home in Orange, central west NSW, and accused of providing military training to pilots working for China.

He has denied the allegations brought against him, saying they were "political" posturing by the US which unfairly singled him out.

Mrs Duggan said the treaty under which the FBI had attempted to extradite her husband was not being used properly.

"The treaty specifically states that alleged crimes under its provisions should not be of a 'political character', should require dual criminality - which is not the case in this instance - and should be in Australia's national interests," she said.

The case is proceeding through the Local Courts where a magistrate will decide whether Duggan is eligible for extradition. It will then be up to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to make the final call.

Born in Boston, Duggan served in the US Marines for 12 years before immigrating to Australia in 2002. In January 2012, he gained Australian citizenship, choosing to give up his US citizenship in the process.

The matter will next come before Downing Centre Local Court on March 20.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/ex-marine-fights-extradition-from-inhumane-prison-c-9742632

#18330580 at 2023-02-12 09:02:01 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18064786
Former marine held in Australian prison says US making him a 'political example'

Anthony Galloway - February 12, 2023

1/3

A former military pilot who has been imprisoned in Australia for more than 100 days has accused the United States government of trying to make a political example of him, questioning why he has been classified as an extremely high security risk resulting in his arms and legs being shackled.

Australian citizen Daniel Duggan was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of US authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets.

The allegations are denied by Duggan and his wife, Saffrine, who is urging the Australian government to "reject this unfair, prejudicial and unprecedented prosecution against my husband, and this gross abuse of Australian sovereignty".

Attorney-General Mark Dre?y?fus in December complied with Washington's extradition request for Duggan, meaning he will need to be handed over unless his lawyers can establish that the extradition would be unlawful.

The former US Marine pilot has been indicted in the US on charges including conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money and violating the arms export control act.

In a handwritten letter sent last month to a friend from inside Silverwater Prison in Sydney, Duggan said he was arrested walking out of Woolworths in the rural NSW town of Orange, where he lives on a farm with his wife and six children.

Duggan, who served in the US Marine Corps between 1989 and 2002 before moving to Australia, said he had been classed as an "extreme high risk" prisoner along with terrorists and other violent offenders inside the prison.

The 54-year-old said he was subject to a "very unjust and unbalanced prosecution against me by the US in an attempt [to] make a political example of me, and in the process to rip apart an Australian family of six children who have been traumatised by the whole thing".

He said the ordeal had caused "extreme duress, stress and anxiety both emotional and financial for my beautiful wife Saff and her salt of the earth father, who has had emergency heart surgery due to the stress of it all".

"As you know, I have no, absolutely no, previous criminal history whatsoever, either here in Aus, or anywhere in the world, and the current allegations are non-violent in nature," he wrote in the letter, seen by this masthead.

"However, I was confined, mysteriously and unprecedentedly, as an 'Extreme High Risk Restricted' inmate even though I have no suspicions of external/political interference!"

Australia, the US and Britain have launched a crackdown on former military pilots being recruited by China, with Duggan's arrest coming days after the British government revealed 30 retired RAF pilots had taken large sums of money from the Chinese military.

In the letter, Duggan said both the AFP and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus' office had confirmed that he was not considered to be a risk, sparking his lawyers to suggest there had been "foreign interference" in the case.

"I have been locked away in maximum security segregated conditions, with extreme and restricted access to my legal team and family with hardly any reasonable way to defend myself," Duggan said.

"It is very frustrating to hear on TV news total inaccuracies and falsehoods and being unable to defend myself!!"

(continued)

#18115403 at 2023-01-10 08:06:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18064786
Fighter pilot Daniel Duggan will fight charges all the way to US court, lawyer

RHIANNON DOWN - JANUARY 10, 2023

An Australian fighter pilot accused of providing military training to Chinese pilots who is fighting his extradition to the US has vowed to contest all allegations in an American court if necessary, his lawyer says.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, was detained in October at the request of the US government after he was indicted on a string of charges including conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money and violating the arms export control act.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus waved through the US's extradition request last month, which cleared the way for a magistrate to determine whether Mr Duggan is eligible for surrender.

Mr Duggan's lawyer, Dennis Miralis, sought to adjourn the matter until next month at a hearing at the Sydney Downing Centre on Tuesday to allow for "further time to consider" how to proceed.

Mr Miralis said that his client would continue to fight the extradition and would contest all charges set out to him in court, confirming that his team was conducting its own investigations into the allegations.

"It should be remembered Mr Duggan should be presumed to be innocent under US law and under Australian law," he told reporters outside court.

"Mr Duggan's response to the allegations are that he will defend against those allegations if needed to be in a court in the US, and he disputes what is contained in the material that we have seen to date."

Mr Miralis said extradition proceedings did not require the magistrate to determine "the strength or otherwise" of the allegations, and the court was typically only provided with a bare "skeleton".

"The test that is imposed under the extradition test is a very low bar test," he said.

"It is intended merely to provide to the magistrate, who is presiding over the extradition hearing, sufficient material which identifies that there is in fact a valid indictment and some information in support of that indictment in accordance with the treaty between the US and Australia."

He also said that each step of the court process could be appealed in a higher court, meaning that extradition cases sometimes dragged on for as long as eight years.

Mr Miralis said Mr Duggan had been "singled out" for extradition and accused the US government of prosecuting a politically motivated case against him.

"It seems to us that undoubtedly this indictment was brought during a time when the US administration was entering into a geopolitical contest with China, and was seeking to use the criminal law in furtherance of US foreign policy," he said.

"This is not unusual in the way that the US criminal justice system operates, however this is unusual in the way the Australian legal system operates."

The US government has alleged Mr Duggan was paid more than $116,000 to train Chinese pilots to take off and land on aircraft carriers.

The indictment alleges Mr Duggan received 12 payments from a Chinese-based business which was responsible for acquiring military training, equipment and technical data for China's government and military.

It's believed Mr Duggan was flagged by Australian authorities after he applied for a job with a defence contractor involved in battle-training F18 pilots and transporting VIP defence ?personnel.

The matter will return to court on February 13.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/fighter-pilot-Daniel-Duggan-will-fight-charges-all-the-way-to-us-court-lawyer/news-story/e9900653904e0ab124199f2f9ce59674

#18079456 at 2023-01-05 08:30:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

>>18064786
US security vs Aussie citizenship in Duggan case

DONALD ROTHWELL - JANUARY 5, 2023

1/2

What new threats are posed for Australian defence secrets by AUKUS? Will the government enact new laws to ensure military personnel and civilian contractors are bound to not disclose AUKUS military secrets?

These are some of the questions the Albanese government is pondering as AUKUS arrangements deepen this year. Alarm already has been raised that Chinese and other foreign actors will seek to exploit any weakness in Australia's AUKUS nuclear security arrangements.

The arrest of Australian citizen Daniel Duggan, and a subsequent US extradition request on charges Duggan allegedly engaged in several counts of providing unauthorised military services to Chinese pilots, gives some clues as to what Australia's AUKUS legal criminal security framework may look like.

Duggan was arrested on October 21 in Orange, NSW, at the request of the US and is being held at the Goulburn supermax prison.

The government, through Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, initially endorsed the US extradition request. The matter is back in court on January 10, when Duggan's legal team has indicated it will contest the extradition.

Duggan is a former US Marine Corps commissioned officer and naval pilot with 10 years' experience. He settled in Australia in the late 2000s and became an Australian citizen in 2012. Since then he has lived in Australia and overseas, including in China.

Duggan's life after leaving the marines has ranged from his Top Gun Tasmania business, which spruiked providing "participants with the opportunity to truly experience the thrill of flying in a jet fighter plane", to working as a military trainer in China and South Africa with Chinese military pilots. It is this activity, conducted between 2010 and 2012 when Duggan was still a US citizen, that attracted the interest of US law enforcement and is the foundation for the criminal charges and the subsequent extradition request.

The US Department of State was aware of these activities as far back as 2008, when Duggan was advised of the need to register with the US government if he wished to provide training to a foreign air force.

The US District of Columbia Court indictment against Duggan was unsealed in mid-December and revealed four US charges including conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, money laundering and violations of arms export controls and international traffic in arms regulations. Those are the charges that will be assessed against the terms of Australian-US extradition arrangements that are governed by a 1974 treaty and the commonwealth Extradition Act.

(continued)

#18064786 at 2023-01-03 09:21:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

Pilot Daniel Duggan paid $116,000 to train Chinese aviators, US claims

LIAM MENDES and ELLEN WHINNETT - JANUARY 3, 2023

1/4

A former US military pilot ?arrested in Australia was paid more than $116,000 to train People's Republic of China pilots to take off and land on aircraft carriers, the US government alleges.

New details from the indictment lodged against Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, have emerged alleging Mr Duggan received 12 payments from a Chinese-based business which was responsible for acquiring military training, equipment and technical data for China's government and military.

Eight of the 12 payments were listed as being for "personal development training.

Each was for $9900, or $9500, and the payments were made between January 11, 2011 and July 6, 2012. They totalled between $116,250 and $116,400.

The payments were allegedly in return for providing "military training to PRC military pilots" through the controversial South African company Test Flying Academy of South Africa, which is at the centre of a "threat alert" warning issued by the British Ministry of Defence.

It has previously been alleged the TFASA was a proxy for Beijing to enlist veteran Western fighter pilots to assist the Chinese military to improve capabilities in which they fall behind Western counterparts.

(continued)

#18046107 at 2022-12-31 08:54:16 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#26 - Part 24
Australia / China Tensions - Part 10
>>17996575 Beijing calls for end of 'anti-China rhetoric' in Australia after Penny Wong visit - Beijing has warned Canberra to "not be swayed by the US" in its handling of China while signalling it may partially end the black-listing of Australian exports previously worth more than $20 billion a year
>>17996587 Canberra should not be swayed by US in handling its relations with China: China Daily editorial - chinadaily.com.cn - chinadaily.com.cn
>>17996590 Video: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on December 21, 2022
>>18002306 Solomon Islands ambassador John Moffat Fugui has died during Beijing's Covid wave, stunning diplomats in China's capital
>>18016738 Activists to revisit controversial 'Where is Peng Shuai' protests at January Australian Open - One of the protesters, Drew Pavlou, says they want to 'make trouble' for Tennis Australia over its links to China
>>18022397 China mourns passing on of Solomon Islands Ambassador Fugui who 'had great visions to connect two countries' - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>18022403 Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade announces passing on of Ambassador Fugui in Beijing
>>18022442 TikTok Security Dilemma Revives Push for U.S. Control - Some Biden administration officials think TikTok will remain security risk as long as it is owned by Chinese company
>>18029214 Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus clears way for pilot Daniel Duggan's extradition to the US - The Albanese government has waved through Washington's request to hand over a former American fighter pilot to US authorities, who accuse him of providing military training to pilots working for the People's Republic of China

#18046103 at 2022-12-31 08:51:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#26 - Part 22
Australia / China Tensions - Part 8
>>17879059 Beijing says Australia is 'playing with fire' over Taiwan visit - Beijing has warned a bipartisan visit to Taiwan by a group of Australian politicians will undermine efforts to repair Australia-China ties, accusing the delegation of spreading "plague and pestilence" and declaring Australia is "playing with fire"
>>17879065 With lawmakers' Taiwan visit, Australia should stop playing with fire before the fire starts to burn - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>17879078 Albanese criticized for insincerity on improving ties with Beijing amid his attempts to distance himself from Taiwan-visiting delegation - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn
>>17906062 Japan joins US and Australia to counter China's 'dangerous and coercive actions' - Australia and the United States will integrate Japan into their joint military activities in Australia, a significant deepening of the relationship as the three nations work increasingly closely together to push back on China
>>17906065 Military conflict would lead to an almost total collapse of China: Morrison - Scott Morrison says military conflict between the US and China over Taiwan would deliver "mutually assured destruction" but would devastate the Chinese economy more than the west and lead to an almost total collapse of the country
>>17906070 Video: Australia's Role in the China Struggle: A Conversation with Scott Morrison - Thirtieth Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Hudson Institute China Center Director Miles Yu discuss Australia's role in combatting the threat to a free and open Indo-Pacific - Hudson Institute
>>17906072 Chinese FM urges Australia to stop official exchanges with Taiwan island; delegation visit 'doomed to end with nothing substantive' - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn
>>17906072 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on December 6, 2022
>>17906310 Australia warned not to become US' 'spearhead', as '2 2' meeting goes beyond hyping 'China threats' - Wang Qi - globaltimes.cn
>>17922495 Growing uncertainties as Japan, Australia strengthen strategy coordination with US - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>17934103 Former US pilot held in Australia accused of breaking US arms controls by training Chinese pilots - Australian pilot Daniel Duggan, a former US Marine Corps aviator, has been accused of breaking American arms control laws by training Chinese fighter pilots to land on aircraft carriers, according to an indictment now unsealed by a US court
>>17934310 As Xi's sun turns up heat, we'd do well to smarten up - "There can be only one sun in the sky and the new dynastic form of leadership in China under Xi Jinping believes that heavenly body is Beijing." Barnaby Joyce - theaustralian.com.au
>>17939818 U.S. lawmakers unveil bipartisan bid to ban China's TikTok - Republican Senator Marco Rubio announces bipartisan legislation to ban China's popular social media app TikTok, ratcheting up pressure on owner ByteDance Ltd amid U.S. fears the app could be used to spy on Americans and censor content
>>17946334 Vanuatu security treaty leaves China out in cold - Australia has outplayed China to secure a legally binding security treaty with Vanuatu, paving the way for intelligence sharing and faster deployment of defence, ?humanitarian and cyber support to the small Pacific nation in times of crisis
>>17960832 Former fighter pilot's wife defends 'angel and patriot' against charges of training Chinese military - Saffrine Duggan said her husband Dan Duggan was a patriotic Australian who was being used as a "geo?political pawn'' by the US in an attempt to stop other pilots from working in China
>>17972561 China contact raises hopes for imprisoned Australian citizens, journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Hengjun - "The Chinese have that kind of mentality to show their goodwill by releasing political prisoners"
>>17980326 Foreign Minister Penny Wong to make first ministerial visit to Beijing since China froze diplomatic relations with Australia
>>17980334 Penny Wong to visit China for historic meeting with her counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday 21st December - the 50th anniversary of Australia-China relations
>>17985372 China's sanctions on Australian exports could be dropped in a month's time following Foreign Minister Penny Wong's "significant" visit to the country, according to Allan Behm, head of thr international and security affairs program at The Australia Institute
>>17985452 Talks break the ice but PM won't bow to China - Anthony Albanese says Australia won't bow to Beijing and will continue to call for Chinese leaders to respect global rules as Penny Wong prepares to depart for the first official visit to China by an Australian government minister in four years

#18046102 at 2022-12-31 08:51:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#26 - Part 21
Australia / China Tensions - Part 7
>>17800492 Anthony Albanese meets Xi Jinping at G20 summit in Bali, telling the Chinese President Australia wants to work with China in the interests of both countries and regional peace
>>17800511 Open up to Chinese trade, Xi tells Albanese - Beijing has said the "most difficult time for China-Australia relations has passed", but told Canberra to improve the relationship the Albanese government needs to reduce hurdles on Chinese businesses.
>>17800514 GT Voice: China-Australia summit may herald new turn in relations - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>17800515 Australian business leaders welcome talks between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and China's President Xi Jinping, but cautious about expecting any immediate outcomes
>>17800518 Xi-Albanese meeting at G20 injects thawing potential to frayed ties - Australia still needs to show 'sincerity, diplomatic autonomy free from US' - Deng Xiaoci - globaltimes.cn
>>17800527 Australia reaps reward for standing ground on China - China's intimidation campaign against Australia has failed, says White House Indo-Pacific Co-ordinator Kurt Campbell, who congratulated the Albanese government on its "strong, purposeful diplomacy"
>>17800537 Albanese says Australia is unlikely to support Taiwan's push to join Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
>>17800544 Anthony Albanese throws Taiwan's trade pact entry into a diplomatic spin - Australian diplomats scrambling to reassure key partners the nation remained open to Taiwan's entry into one of the world's biggest trading blocs
>>17800547 Taiwan seeks answers from Anthony Albanese over CPTPP comments at APEC - Taipei sought an urgent explanation from Anthony Albanese's office after the prime minister made comments which suggested Australia could reject Taiwan's bid to join the CPTPP because it was not a "recognised" nation state
>>17803999 China warns AUKUS deal an ongoing 'threat to peace' and bilateral relations - AUKUS partnership is "clearly a threat" to regional peace and security, and undermines any improvement to the two countries' bilateral relationship

>>17804004 Fraught AUKUS impedes momentum of better China-Australia ties - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>17804019 Coalition calls for sanctions on Chinese officials over Uyghur human rights abuses in Xinjiang, after foreign minister Penny Wong declined to meet prominent Uyghur advocates in Canberra
>>17804028 Torture survivors' plea for Australia not to abandon them after China reset - Omar Bekali, who spent seven months in 2017 in internment camps in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, fears that as Australia seeks a closer relationship with China after years of hostility, the plight of persecuted ethnic minorities will fall off the Albanese government's agenda
>>17827652 Video: Chinese cry for freedom in biggest anti-government protests since Tiananmen - Crowds have chanted "down with the Communist Party" and "Xi Jinping, step down" in an extraordinary wave of protests across China sparked by anger at draconian Covid restrictions
>>17832714 Video: Beijing boils as BBC journalist arrested amid national anti-government protests - BBC journalist Ed Lawrence arrested, beaten and kicked by Chinese police as China's biggest anti-government protests since Tiananmen in 1989 surged into Beijing
>>17832778 Daniel Duggan, Australian pilot with China links fights extradition to US, slams 'unprecedented' treatment
>>17850394 PDF: "The Enemy Is Inside the Gate - The CCP is involved in the QLD elections. Criminal elements within the Australian Government have enabled CCP access to all of Australia's institutions over decades and communist ideology is being forced on the Living Men-Women-Children of this land without their knowledge or consent."
>>17853206 Video: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson's awkward silence to pointed question as Beijing cracks down on COVID protests - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian left dumbfounded when asked about the anti-government protests which have engulfed the country, as the Chinese Communist Party begins a brutal crackdown on those involved
>>17869631 Government and opposition MPs to visit Taiwan as part of Australian parliamentary delegation - Six federal politicians from both Labor and the Coalition will travel to Taiwan next week, in the first visit from an Australian parliamentary delegation in years
>>17869647 MPs fly to Taiwan for secretive bipartisan talks - The first group of sitting Australian parliamentarians to visit Taiwan since 2019 will include former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, two Labor members of the Albanese government, Meryl Swanson and Libby Coker, Liberal National Party members Scott Buchholz and Terry Young, and Liberal Gavin Pearce

#18046079 at 2022-12-31 08:46:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#26 - Part 11
Australian Politics and Society - Part 11
>>17996634 Bruce Lehrmann inquiry: Bring it on in full, and free from politics - "First and foremost, this inquiry must get to bottom of the truly disturbing claims raised by senior AFP officers in charge of the investigation that there was "too much political interference" in DPP Shane Drumgold's decision to prosecute Lehrmann." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au
>>17996662 Alleged 'Mr Big' drug importer extradited to Australia from the Netherlands to face justice - Tse Chi Lop, "the El Chapo of Asia", alleged crime boss who headed a global enterprise suspected to have imported more drugs into Australia than any other syndicate in history
>>17996676 Queensland Police Officers were following up an outstanding warrant relating to firearms and a border breach by shooter Nathaniel Train, as well as a missing person report, when they attended the Wieambilla property last week, Deputy Commissioner Tracy Linford reveals
>>17996696 Train family offered US sanctum before evil Queensland police killing - An American man with links to cop killers Gareth and Stacey Train claims the pair turned down an invitation to relocate in the US before carrying out a deadly ambush on Queensland Police officers
>>18002329 Experts question Qld police reluctance to label last week's killing of two young constables and a neighbour at Wieambilla a terrorist act
>>18002453 The Nuclear-Powered Submarine Taskforce - Australia's largest, and ultra-secret, defence project is fast taking shape behind closed doors
>>18007283 Inside Melbourne boxing gym with a neo-Nazi underbelly - Extremism experts have raised concerns about the presence of a child at a neo-Nazi event in Melbourne's north-west, saying it indicates far-right groups are indoctrinating children with hateful ideology during vulnerable periods in their intellectual development
>>18007288 Coaches at Legacy Boxing Gym in Melbourne's north-west will have their registrations suspended by the state's governing body for amateur boxing after the gym was found to have links to some of Victoria's most dangerous neo-Nazi activists

>>18012370 Space Force Guardians train with service members from Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom for potential conflict in Europe during large-scale 'Space Flag' exercise at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado
>>18022458 New missile system in line for Top End protection - Albanese government is considering purchasing mobile Naval Strike Missile launchers - "StrikeMaster" system can launch ship-killing NSMs over ranges of at least 250km, delivering a potent "area denial" capability protecting most of Australia's Top End
>>18029095 Former prime minister Scott Morrison one of many public figures stung in alleged security breach - A hacker has claimed to have obtained the data of 400 million Twitter users - Mr Morrison's parliamentary email address, username and phone number linked to his Twitter account were included in the information dump posted on a forum
>>18029276 Australian man killed 'defending the freedom of the Ukrainian people' - Australian man Sage O'Donnell has been killed fighting in Ukraine, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed
>>18029276 Q Post #4959 - What groups are financing Ukraine? Why are they financing Ukraine? Why was Hunter in Ukraine? What did 'Pop' threaten to withold from Ukraine? A billion dollars? Who benefits? What did 'Pop' receive in return? Why is Hunter not in jail? Think. Blackmail? Bribes? Extortion? Threats? How do you control a 'leader'? How do you control a country? Are you ready to take back control? Your vote matters. You have all the tools you need. Q - https://qanon.pub/#4959
>>18034687 Daniel Duggan background check may have raised red flags - The former US Marine fighter pilot accused of providing military training to Chinese pilots may have been flagged by Australian authorities after he applied for a job with a defence contractor involved in battle-training F18 pilots and transporting VIP defence personnel
>>18034769 Guardian Australia hacked, offices shut amid ransomware hit - Most of the Guardian Australia's offices remain closed after the media company's global arm was hit with a ransomware attack last week
>>18041006 Australian Federal police are managing at least 16 high-risk terrorist offenders living in the community, including through the use of electronic monitoring and by requiring them to attend rehabilitation programs and psychological counselling