New Zealand investigates claims of Chinese link to break-ins at academic’s office and home
Professor of Chinese politics says she was threatened before her home was burgled last week
New Zealand’s prime minister has ordered the country’s security agencies to investigate a university professor’s claims that burglaries at her home and office were linked to her academic research on Chinese government influence in New Zealand politics.
Anne-Marie Brady, a specialist in Chinese and polar politics at New Zealand’s University of Canterbury, made the claims while addressing an Australian parliamentary committee last week.
According to The New Zealand Herald, Brady said her office on campus was broken into in December, and her home burgled last week, with computers, phones and USB storage devices stolen while other obvious valuables were overlooked.
Brady said the latest burglary was preceded by an anonymous letter threatening “pushback” against opponents of Beijing’s interests, with the warning: “You are next.”
She also claimed that her sources in China had been interrogated by state security officials.