A Chinese state-owned publication has denied claims that an Australian man was refused entry into China for his criticism of the ruling Communist Party, instead accusing the man of links to a local Chinese cult.
John Hugh, 51, was turned away from Shanghai airport and placed on a return flight to Sydney this week.
Mr Hugh said he wanted to return his father’s ashes to his country of birth and was travelling with his mother, who was allowed to enter.
“They said to me: ‘take your belongings, come with us’,” Mr Hugh told SBS News.
When he asked why he was refused entry, Mr Hugh said the immigration officials replied: “You should know”.
Mr Hugh is a spokesman for the Australian Values Alliance, a group of Chinese Australians who are critics of the Chinese Communist Party, and recently helped launch Clive Hamilton’s controversial book Silent Invasion.
On Friday, Chinese state-owned media delivered the country’s alternative explanation.
“The truth is reports show that Hugh has been involved in activities related to a local cult organisation,” the Financial Times reported.
“Beijing has good reasons to suspect that he might have participated in cult activities aimed at subverting the Chinese government and thus has full reason to temporarily stop him entering China.”
Mr Hugh told SBS News the allegation was a lie and he had no reference to any cults in China or elsewhere.
He said he was a Christian, baptised at a legally registered church in China.
The former Parramatta City councillor said the comments were likely a reference to the Falun Gong - a spiritual group that are often seen practicing their distinctive meditation exercises in public parks, including in Australia.
John Hugh with his mother and late father whose ashes he was returning to China. Source: SBS News
The group allege they are persecuted by China and accuse the government of executing members and harvesting their organs.
Mr Hugh said he was not a Falun Gong member and never has been, but he had friends who were members and had attended community events when he was a councillor.
In 2014, Chinese government representatives tried to prevent him travelling to China on a Parramatta Council tour citing his links to the Falun Gong, he said.
His visit to China ended up going ahead despite a delay on his visa application.
The Financial Times report does not name the Falun Gong but said cults were a “global headache” that deserved “no mercy”, offering the example of the Waco siege in the United States in 1993, which left dozens of cult members dead.
“Even if Hugh is backed by certain foreign forces, the activity in which he participated is unacceptable to China. No government would tolerate a cult engaged in subversive activity,” the publication wrote.
“It is suspected that the purpose of Hugh's trip to China is to interfere in China's domestic politics. Restricting him from entering China is therefore in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations.”
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the government was “disappointed” Mr Hugh’s visit was blocked, but said China had “authority over its own policies and procedures for the entry and exit of foreign nationals into and out of China”, speaking in a statement.
Peter Jennings, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the refusal of entry was further evidence of “increasingly nationalistic behaviour” from China under leader Xi Jingping.
