The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has described another threatening letter sent to an exiled Hong Kong dissident in Australia as “reprehensible”, a “threat to our national sovereignty” and “the safety and security of Australians”.
The anonymous letter, mailed from Hong Kong and sent to Ted Hui’s Adelaide office, offered his colleagues $203,000 for information on his whereabouts and his family. It arrived just days after China’s foreign ministry accused the Albanese government of interfering with its internal affairs.
The letter, which contained a picture of Hui and personal details, claimed he was a “wanted person” for a “range of national security related offences including incitement to secession” and “collusion with a foreign country”. It is now being investigated by Australian federal police.
The letter also accuses Hui, who fled to Australia via Europe in 2019, of leaving Hong Kong with $3m in proceeds of crime. Hui, who was a pro-democracy legislator in Hong Kong, denies that claim and says it is “fictitious”.
Last week, Guardian Australia revealed a fake pamphlet pretending to be from Hui’s law firm was sent to mosques, falsely claiming he was a pro-Israel lawyer willing to “wage war” against Islamic terrorism. The letter was mailed from Macau. The Coalition criticised the letter as “a crude attempt to weaponise antisemitism for the purposes of foreign interference”.
An anonymous letter very similar to the one delivered to Hui’s workplace was sent to some Melbourne residents earlier this month, offering a bounty if they informed on Australian citizen and pro-democracy activist Kevin Yam.
A spokesperson for Wong escalated the Albanese government’s condemnation of the letters on Wednesday and said the matter would be directly raised with Chinese officials.
“Continued attempts to target individuals in Australia are reprehensible and threaten our national sovereignty, as well as the safety and security of Australians,” the spokesperson said.
“Australia will not tolerate the targeting, surveillance, harassment or intimidation of any person in Australia by a foreign government.
“The Australian government and our security agencies are acting to keep Australians safe, protect their democratic rights, and support affected individuals and communities.”
When Wong first raised concerns about the letters earlier this month, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, accused the Australian government of unacceptable interference in its domestic affairs.
“Australia blatantly interfered in Hong Kong’s rule of law,” Ning said. “China strongly deplores and firmly opposes it.
“We urge Australia to respect China’s sovereignty and rule of law in Hong Kong to foster good conditions and atmosphere for sustainable development of China-Australia relations.”
Hui said the letter sent to his workplace “listed my personal information, the address of the law firm, and a residential address in Adelaide that is not connected to me”.
He said he was sharing the letter “to tell the Hong Kong Communist party that I am not afraid”.
“The more you press, the higher my profile,’ Hui said. “I will continue to speak out for freedom in Hong Kong. Of course, I will also be careful to protect my family.
“I have informed the Australian foreign minister’s office and the federal police are in close contact with the Australian government.
“The federal police have informed me they will meet with me to take statements, conduct evidence searches, trace the source of the letters and try their best to keep me and my family safe.”
When the letters were first revealed, a Hong Kong government spokesperson said it would “not issue any anonymous letters” but said it would “take every measure” to pursue wanted people, including “cutting off their funding sources”.
It is not known who sent the letters but its language matches a public appeals notice published on the Hong Kong police force’s official website. A UK phone number included at the bottom of both letters has also been linked to the Hong Kong police force, which was contacted for comment last week.
Hui and Yam are wanted by Hong Kong authorities for allegedly breaching a controversial national security law that grants authorities sweeping extraterritorial powers to prosecute acts or comments made anywhere in the world that it deems criminal.
In 2022, Hui was convicted in absentia for his role in pro-democracy protests during 2019 and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail. Hong Kong authorities have accused him of “foreign collusion” in social media posts seeking international support for Hong Kong under its national security law.
