The woman accused of spying on Buddhists for China was granted bail on Friday after spending more than two months behind bars. Photo: Albert McKnight.
An alleged spy accused of working in Australia to collect information on a Buddhist group on behalf of the Chinese Government has been granted bail after spending months behind bars.
The woman, who is legally unable to be named, is accused of covertly and deceptively collecting information on the international Buddhist group Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door on behalf of the Chinese Government between 2022 and 2025.
The Chinese-born permanent resident of Australia was arrested and charged with an offence of reckless foreign interference in August 2025, before court documents were released outlining the allegations.
She was refused bail by the ACT Magistrates Court, entered a not guilty plea and spent more than two months in custody before applying for bail for the second time on Friday (17 October).
Barrister Anthony Williams SC said while prosecutors claimed they had a strong case against his client, he thought it was “questionable”.
“A serious question arises … whether all the elements of an offence of foreign interference are made out,” he said.
He said on these allegations, all that happened was that public domain or open access information had been provided to a foreign principal.
Mr Williamson said there was a suggestion his client may have tried to infiltrate an organisation, but there was no evidence this infiltration actually happened.
Prosecutors said the woman had a husband in China, but Mr Williamson said she was separated from him. One of the reasons she had been travelling back to the country was to finalise their divorce and visit her mother.
He said his client had significant business interests in Australia and a partner, but the prosecutor noted that this partner was also from China and left the country after her arrest.
The prosecutor said a considerable amount of information on the woman’s phone had now been captured, although not all of it had been tested as most of it was in a foreign language and needed to be translated.
But he said there had been significant difficulties in progressing the investigation regarding witnesses, as non-publication orders made in the case had hampered the police’s ability to speak to them.
There were safety concerns for one witness in particular, he said.
The prosecutor, who opposed bail, said only a few prosecutions of this kind have begun in Australia.
“Members of the community are entitled to go about their business free from interference … by someone directly from a foreign state,” he said.
The court heard police claimed the woman had been given $230,000 from Chinese-based institutions over the eight years between 2017 and 2025.
Magistrate Jane Campbell said the woman had family in China so the fact she was receiving money from its institutions didn’t surprise her. What surprised her was that the woman, supposedly on a low income, had three properties and “a lifestyle of luxury with the cars and the handbags”.
The woman apparently had three cars, including one worth $400,000.
But Mr Williamson said his client was a businesswoman, and the reason her personal tax declarations might seem low was that most of her wealth was tied up in her business interests.
Magistrate Campbell accepted there were serious consequences if the woman fled the country as that may bring the prosecution to an end because Australia doesn’t have a formal arrangement to extradite from China.
But the magistrate ultimately said she couldn’t find anything to suggest there was a likelihood the woman would interfere with evidence or witnesses.
She accepted the woman probably had the financial means and connections to flee, but was not satisfied it was likely that she would.
Bail was granted on a long list of conditions, including that she report to a police station every day, refrain from contacting anyone she knows to be associated with Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door, avoid being near any facility operated by them, and not approach any Chinese embassy or consulate.
She must also remain in the ACT, possess only one telecommunications device, and provide a $633,000 self-surety.
After the hearing ended, she was seen hugging one of her solicitors. The matter will return to court in November.
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