A bomb scare at the Australian prime minister’s home originated from written threats directed at the Chinese dance and music group Shen Yun, which is banned by Beijing.
Emails seen by local media instructed performers to cancel their upcoming Australian shows or risk explosives being detonated at Anthony Albanese’s official residence in Canberra. The claims were first reported in a newspaper associated with the Falun Gong religious movement, which is also banned in China and has ties to Shen Yun.
Authorities declined to comment on the emails directly, only confirming they attended an “alleged security incident” at the leader’s home on Tuesday and that “nothing suspicious was located.”
Albanese was evacuated from his home at 18:00 local time (07:00 GMT) and taken to another secure location for several hours, police said.
One of the emails, written in Chinese, warned that large quantities of nitroglycerine explosives had been placed around the Lodge, the Prime Minister’s official residence. It stated: “If you insist on proceeding with the performance, then the Prime Minister’s Lodge will be blown into ruins and blood will flow like a river.”
The threat was reported to police by Shen Yun on Tuesday, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. When asked about the email threats, a spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police declined to comment.
In a social media post on Wednesday morning, Albanese thanked police and people who sent “kind messages,” alongside a photo of his cavoodle guarding the door. “Toto on alert but all good,” he said.
During an event on Wednesday, interrupted by protesters, Albanese reiterated previous calls to lower the temperature of political debate in the country. “I think it’s just a reminder to take every opportunity to tell people turn the heat down, for goodness sake, we can’t take these things for granted,” he said.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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