New Zealand intelligence report accuses China of ‘foreign interference’

News Snapshot:

New Zealand’s intelligence service has accused China of foreign interference in its democracy, amid increasing tensions and geopolitical competition in the region. In a declassified threat assessment report released on Friday, the country’s spy agency, NZSIS, said there were “foreign intelligence agencies who persistently and opportunistically conduct espionage operations against New Zealand”. It discussed “the activities of three states in particular: the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia” – but focused much of its discussions of internal interference by the Chinese state, including “ongoing activity in and against New Zealand and our home region...