The news organisation that broke the story about National's Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay is now carrying an article that says a National Party MP who studied at an elite Chinese spy school before moving to New Zealand has attracted the interest of our Security Intelligence Service.
The allegations provide another - in this case, somewhat off-the-wall, twist in what has been a tumultuous election campaign. National was quickly into full defence/offence mode on the allegations.
Newsroom reports that the National list MP Jian Yang did not mention in his work or political CVs a decade he spent in the People's Liberation Army-Air Force Engineering College or the Luoyang language institute run by China's equivalent of the United States National Security Agency.
That agency, the Third Department, conducts spying activities for China, Newsroom says.
In a statement issued after the story had been publish on Wednesday, Yang issued a challenge to those "propagating these defamatory statements to front up and prove them".
"This is a smear campaign by nameless people who are out to damage me and the National Party ten days from an election, just because I am Chinese."
Newsroom has been told that to have taught at the Air Force Engineering College, Yang would have almost certainly been an officer in Chinese military intelligence and a member of the Communist Party, as other students and staff have been.
Yang studied and then taught there before moving to Australia where he attended the Australian National University in Canberra. He migrated to this country to teach international relations in the politics department at the University of Auckland.
He was hand-picked by National Party president Peter Goodfellow to become an MP on its list in 2011, wooed directly by the former Prime Minister John Key and has been a key fundraiser for National among the Chinese community in Auckland, Newsroom says.
In a further sign that National was taking the potential impact of the allegations very seriously just 10 days out from the election, Yang was being made available to the media for comment at 4.30pm on Wednesday.
This is the statement from Jian Yang:
"I refute any allegations that question my loyalty to New Zealand.
"I have been nothing but upfront and transparent about my education and employment.
"Although I was not born here, I am proud to call myself a New Zealander, obey our laws, and contribute to this country.
"I challenge those who are propagating these defamatory statements to front up and prove them.
"This is a smear campaign by nameless people who are out to damage me and the National Party ten days from an election, just because I am Chinese."
Also see FT story here.
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