Troll or spy? Why this fake Chinese police car spotted in Australia has caused a stir

A car seen in Melbourne kitted out with labels to make it appear as a Chinese police car has opened up debate about foreign interference in Australia. But experts say it's probably not the Chinese Communist Party at play. Here's why.

Victoria Police said it was aware of the image of the car, spotted in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Credit: Supplied/Reddit

Key Points

• Victoria Police say it's aware of images of the car spotted in Melbourne.
• No police complaints have been made about the vehicle.
• A Liberal frontbencher and critic of the CCP fears it could be the Chinese government at play.

The federal opposition has raised concerns fake Chinese police cars spotted in Victoria are being used to “intimidate” and “strike fear into the hearts” of members of the Chinese Australian community.

But an expert into Australia-China relations has raised doubts that there’s foreign interference at play and says it could just be someone trolling the community.

A photo of a car parked in Melbourne fitted out with various unofficial decals to give the appearance that it is a Chinese government vehicle attracted widespread attention after it was posted on social media at the weekend.

On the side of the car, the Chinese characters read: 'ministry of public security' and on the bonnet, 'police'.

Victoria Police said it was aware of the images but it was yet to receive any complaints about the issue.

“At this time no specific offences have been detected and we have not received any reports in relation to the matter,” a spokesperson told SBS News in a statement.

The coalition’s newly-appointed home affairs spokesman James Paterson said while it may be just a case of an “over-enthusiastic” supporter of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Australia, it could also be a case of foreign interference.

“I fear that the intention is to intimidate the Chinese diaspora in Australia,” Senator Paterson told Melbourne radio 3AW on Tuesday.

“It would intimidate and strike fear in the hearts of Chinese Australians.”

Senator Paterson said it was “utterly unacceptable” if someone was purporting to represent Chinese police forces in Australia.

“The Chinese government is the number one source of attempted foreign interference in Australia and that takes many forms.

“But one of the principal targets is the Chinese Australian community, because the Chinese Communist Party has the view that if you are Chinese ethnically, no matter where you live in the world, no matter what your citizenship is, you owe obligations to Beijing and that includes supporting their political objectives.”

Benjamin Herscovitch, a Research Fellow at the Australian National University and expert on Australian-Chinese relations, said the overt nature of the car’s presence would rule it highly unlikely to be Chinese state-directed and state-sanctioned.

“And certainly if there is some kind of connection between the Chinese intelligence services or the Chinese security services and the individual or individuals driving this car, I imagine it would be very much at arm's length,” he told SBS News.

Mr Herscovitch said it would be a “huge liability” for Beijing to be associated with the car, particularly at a time when the Chinese government was in the process of trying to repair the relationship with Australia.

“From the point of view of the Chinese government, the benefits that you would get from having a car like this driving around the streets of Melbourne, are not big enough to justify the diplomatic kerfuffle and drama for the Chinese government that would result if something like this was traced back to the Chinese government.”

Mr Herscovitch said the threat of foreign interference was “very real”, particularly when it comes to Chinese international students at Australian universities.

“If they aim to do that they won't do it via a means that is as public as a car driving around with that kind of text and that kind of imagery on there. We'd have many, many more discreet and arguably many more insidious ways of doing it.”

It’s not the first time such cars with Chinese police sign labels have been spotted in Australia.

ABC News reported in 2019 that two cars were spotted in Adelaide and Perth, with one of the owners claiming it was part of a “joke”.

It comes amid reports two New York residents were arrested after allegedly operating a Chinese "secret police station" in Manhattan's Chinatown neighbourhood.

Last year, a report by international NGO Safeguard Defenders found two secret Chinese police stations had been set up in Australia in recent years.

SBS News has contacted the Australian Federal Police about the vehicles.