Winston Peters says he hasn't been briefed on Chinese student in Auckland reportedly investigated by SIS

July 3, 2018
Winston Peters speaks to reporters at Parliament.

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters says he has not been briefed about a Chinese student reportedly investigated by the Security Intelligence Service over concerns his work could be used for sensitive military purposes.

Online news outlet Newsroom has today reported the SIS has investigated Hu Bin, a Chinese national studying for a PhD in electronic engineering at Auckland University of Technology.

The report said Hu was granted a student visa to attend AUT before national security checks were completed.

Newsroom said it understands the immigration service has now reviewed the legal status of his visa and presence in the country after the SIS finished its security check.

Questioned by reporters at Parliament this afternoon, Mr Peters, who's also Foreign Affairs Minister, said he has not been briefed about the student.

"I want evidence before I start answering these questions," he said.

Asked is he aware of any intelligence work being done by intelligence agencies around this topic, Mr Peters replied: I am aware of the work the intelligence agencies does, yes. And I don't talk about it because it would not be effective in the interests of safety and security of New Zealanders".

Asked whether he would regard it as a failure if a Chinese student was granted a visa before national security checks were done, Mr Peters said: "Well, I mean those things are meant to be done, but it’s quite possible with a young person you don't quite know who you’re dealing with and what you're dealing with, and when they go from being a genuine student to something else. 

"That said, we're not going to discuss the raison d'etre of the SIS or the GCSB. But we'll see."

To a question about the US decision to tighten its visa rules for Chinese students, Mr Peters said," "The US writes its laws and being a sovereign nation, we write ours."

Mr Peters said he has read Newsroom's report about Hu and "it doesn't say they've got any evidence".

The report said Hu’s study at AUT is listed under the Centre for Signals and Systems Research in the Electrical and Electronic Engineering department. 

His PhD project is labelled an "active project" on "Wideband direction of arrival estimation based on cyclic stability".

The report said Hu recently returned to China, telling colleagues he would return at the end of this month once his next one-year visa was approved.

SHARE ME

More Stories