Siru Zheng (centre) is the only one out of her two co-defendants, a man (left) and the first woman arrested (right), who can legally be named. Photos: AFP/Albert McKnight.
One of the alleged spies accused of tasking others to covertly collect information on a group of Australian Buddhists warned an operative that the religious movement was a “cult” that was “being investigated”.
Three Chinese nationals, 31-year-old Siru Zheng, and two who legally can’t be identified, are accused of spying on Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door for the Chinese Government.
The first woman was arrested last August, and Ms Zheng and a man were arrested this month, before the ACT Magistrates Court released detailed documents outlining the allegations against them.
In the documents, police say the Chinese Communist Party sees Guan Yin Citta, a religious movement based on Mahayana Buddhist teachings, as a threat to the stability of its regime.
It is alleged that, in 2022, when the first woman was in China, she messaged Ms Zheng and the man on the social media app WeChat, asking them to research the movement online.
She reportedly wanted to understand its current situation, activities, activity methods and organisational structure after the then-recent death of its founder, Richard Jin Hong Lu.
“Get to investigating immediately. The priority is to investigate the current status of the Guan Yin Citta and their official website,” the first woman allegedly told the man.
He allegedly found information on the movement’s website and looked for news online.
Ms Zheng and the man allegedly both looked up information about the movement and Mr Lu on social media and shared screenshots with the first woman.
Ms Zheng also allegedly requested details about the Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and sent these to the first woman as well.
In addition, she allegedly sent the first woman photos from Google Maps of Guan Yin Citta’s building in Sydney, as well as of addresses linked to five people connected to the movement.
It is further alleged that an official from China’s Ministry of Public Security and the Public Security Bureau began speaking with the first woman about getting others to gather information about Guan Yin Citta.
He allegedly tasked her with obtaining photos of the Oriental Radio Station building in Sydney, so Ms Zheng passed along photos from Google Maps and information about the property’s sale history from a real estate website.
The foreign official allegedly urged the first woman to find out whether Guan Yin Citta owned land in Sydney and to obtain the contact details and addresses of its “masters” in Melbourne.
The first woman allegedly tried to call the movement to find out if it was still running activities, but they didn’t answer, so she asked Ms Zheng to call instead, reminding her to be “undercover”.
Ms Zheng allegedly tried to call, but there was no answer, so she asked the man to call as well.
In addition, Ms Zheng allegedly tasked a fourth person with finding information on the movement. In 2023, this fourth person allegedly passed on the movement’s Canberra address to the first woman.
“Classified as a cult internally. They’re being investigated. Be careful. I had even been asked to inquire about this organisation when I was in China,” the first woman told this person.
The first woman then allegedly told the foreign official about the Canberra address, and he said her information was “very helpful for us”.
“Infiltrate the enemy’s inner circle,” he allegedly told her.
“You slip in and get yourself a senior executive position or something.”
While they appeared to joke about the situation, the first woman allegedly agreed to try to “sneak in”.
“Doesn’t this have a bit of a spy thriller feel to it. First, maintain confidentiality. Second, inform me immediately if anything arises,” the foreign official allegedly told her.
“At the very least, you ought to give me a certificate of merit,” she replied.
She allegedly continued to speak to the foreign official until May 2025. When police raided her home that July, she claimed she did not know who or what Guan Yin Citta was.
The man’s home was raided in December 2025. When speaking to the police, he allegedly admitted that the first woman had sent him several questions about Guan Yin Citta and that he had collated 99 gigabytes of data about the movement before sending it to her.
All three defendants have been charged with, and pleaded not guilty to, reckless foreign interference. Their cases are scheduled to appear in court again on 8 April.
The first woman’s name was suppressed out of concern that publishing it could prejudice her case, while the man’s name was suppressed on national security grounds.
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