The statement also contained what could be considered a not-so-veiled threat to the Australian government, which is extremely concerned about its trade relations with China, a global economic giant and powerful neighbor. “We firmly oppose the decision by the Australian government to provide a protection visa to Chen Yonglin and request the Australian side properly handle this so as to ensure the healthy development of Chinese-Australian relations,” the statement said. Chen recounted his long history of direct involvement with the CCP. He said he stood in Tiananmen Square as a young man and watched demonstrators massacred by the government. He said he and legions of other young Chinese were brainwashed into believing that the demonstrators were traitors who wou ld lead to China’s downfall. “They actually convinced people that the use of force against demonstrators was good,” Chen recalled. “They’ve done a lot of controlling in the Chinese community. A lot of migrants have been brainwashed during their childhood. Just like me.” According to Chen, the government said the economy in China was thriving because the protestors had been crushed. “It was good for the economy, they said…. It was based on the blood of these demonstrators.” After Tiananmen Square, Chen, 37, spent 10 years as a Foreign Ministry official. He said that after he became a Chinese government official, he was placed in charge of collecting information on any pro-democracy activity, especially the Falun Gong movement, a group that advocates peace and meditation. China banned Falun Gong in 1999, and its practitioners have accused the government of torture and other forms of intimidation. But Chen said that as he met more of these practitioners and looked into their doctrine, he realized they posed no threat to civil society at all. “I found that Falun Gong practitioners are different from the propaganda,” Chen explained. “They described them as evil cowards with mental disorders, committing suicides with self-immolation. They describe this group of people as insane. “But I checked their doctrine—they do not advocate suicide … they are very kind people,” he added. Chen said his parents remain in China and he fears for their safety, but on the other hand he hopes that the high-profile nature of his case could help keep them safe. “I am worried much about their life, but so far at this stage I wondered if [the government dares] to touch them publicly and expose the action to the world,” Chen said. “I have told my family to record everything that may relate to the persecution by the CCP.” Chen said the CCP has successfully stolen untold amounts of U.S. ingenuity, especially related to nuclear, electronic and aviation technology. He described the Chinese government’s appearance of deference to the United States as part of a larger strategy to undermine U.S. power. “The United States is always the number-one enemy of the CCP,” Chen said. “The United States led the Western world during the Cold War time and is against communism. After the collapse of communism in Eastern European countries and Soviet Union, there are still only a few countries persisting in communism and China is one. “The CCP always considered the U.S. as the most powerful threat to communism, because the United States has always upheld the principles of democracy and freedom.” For the moment, Chen is out of a job and hasn’t had many good leads. “I’m still looking for a proper job,” he said. “It’s quite hard to find a job, but I’m trying.” He said he hopes his dramatic story, coupled with his diplomatic experience and his understanding of the inner workings of communist China, will be of assistance to some government or quasi-government agency. “I am familiar with this field and I’m very clear with how the CCP operates,” he noted. He also hopes that Chinese people around the world will understand and support his decision to turn on the CCP. “I have had a talk with the Chinese community to explain my action and hope they can understand,” Chen said. “I expressed the hope that they can also get rid of the control of the CCP.” Michael Coleman is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.