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Category : News
Author: Alice Wilkins

A group of MPs is calling for an inquiry into 'foreign interference' following claims about Chinese Communist Party influence in New Zealand.

It comes as Chinese Premier Li Qiang prepares to again meet the Prime Minister tonight - this time at Auckland's Museum.

Protesters made their feelings clear outside the hotel where the Chinese Premier was on Friday.

And it's not just protesters voicing their concern about the Chinese government. A group of cross-party New Zealand MPs are calling for an inquiry into foreign interference.

It follows the release of Stuff Circuit documentary The Long Game which detailed allegations of decades of Chinese Communist Party influence and interference in New Zealand - as well as accusations of a state-sponsored kidnapping attempt of a Chinese man in Auckland who was left hospitalised.

It has prompted calls for an inquiry from a group of MPs from all sides of Parliament - called the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).

"IPAC is concerned about foreign interference from all sorts of state actors," said IPAC co-chair and Labour MP Ingrid Leary.

In a letter to the Foreign Affairs and Trade Select Committee, the group wrote: "The Committee... will be aware of recent reports... where serious allegations of kidnap, assault, and harassment were raised."


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"There has been the widely reported hacking of Parliament's own computer systems," the letter read, adding "several MPs and an academic... [were] also targeted."

"We have good reason to understand... there are more examples and situations that can be uncovered," it stated.

"These are deeply concerning, they impact our sovereign independence, and we want the information to be taken seriously," Leary said.

Earlier during a visit to Auckland's Plant and Food Research, Li Qiang - who didn't speak to media today or take questions - was asked about the recent allegations.

"What does the Chinese government say about the decades worth of interference that China has been carrying out in New Zealand?" he was asked.

"Premier Li, what about the kidnappings that the Chinese government has been carrying out in New Zealand?"

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was asked if he discussed foreign interference with Li Qiang after the pair met yesterday.

"I expressed our view that foreign interference is something that we do not support from any country," Luxon said.

There is one more day of Li Qiang's New Zealand visit - a trip marred by unanswered questions and protest.

Article: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/06/mps-demand-inquiry-into-foreign-interference-amid-chinese-premier-s-visit.html
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