Australian PM evacuated from home after alleged bomb threat

Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, was temporarily evacuated from The Lodge to safety on Tuesday night after an alleged bomb threat linked to upcoming performances in Australia by Shen Yun, a U.S.-based classical Chinese dance and music company banned in China.

The threat was sent in an email to local organisers of Shen Yun Performing Arts, warning that explosives had allegedly been placed around the Lodge (the prime minister’s official residence in Canberra) and would be detonated if the performances proceeded.

“Large quantities of nitro-glycerine explosives have been placed around the Australian Prime Minister’s Lodge, located on Adelaide Avenue in the Deakin area of Canberra,” the message said.

“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.”

Shen Yun passed the threat to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) late in the afternoon. Officers responded at about 6 PM local time and conducted a thorough search of the residence.

“A thorough search of a protection establishment was undertaken and nothing suspicious was located,” the AFP said in a statement, “There is no current threat to the community or public safety.”

Albanese was taken to another location for several hours while the search was carried out. Speaking later in Melbourne, he said the incident was “a reminder to take every opportunity to tell people, ‘Turn the heat down.’ We can’t take these things for granted.”

Shen Yun ban

Shen Yun, which has links to the Falun Gong spiritual movement, is scheduled to perform in several Australian cities over the coming month, beginning on the Gold Coast.

Falun Gong is banned in China, and Chinese diplomatic missions have repeatedly criticised Shen Yun performances.

In January, Chinese consulates in Sydney and Melbourne issued statements urging people not to attend the shows.

The Melbourne consulate described the production as “a political tool used by the Falun Gong cult under the guise of spreading traditional Chinese culture to promote its cult doctrines and amass wealth”, and accused it of slandering the Chinese government.

Falun Gong rejected the criticism, calling it “a clear example of transnational repression” and pointing to documentation by international human rights organisations regarding China’s treatment of its practitioners.

There is no evidence that the Chinese embassy or government was involved in the bomb threat. A government source cautioned against “jumping to any conclusions”, noting it could have originated from an individual hostile to Falun Gong.

New York-based Shen Yun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rising threats

The incident comes amid growing concern from security agencies about threats targeting federal parliamentarians.

Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, warned last year that Australians were losing the ability to “converse with civility and debate with respect”.

According to the AFP, 951 reports of threatening, harassing, nuisance and offensive communications were made to parliamentarians in the last financial year.

AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett established National Security Investigations teams in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra to focus on individuals and groups targeting federal lawmakers. She recently told Senate Estimates that 21 people had been charged since September.

Shen Yun has previously faced similar threats overseas. Last year, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, was emptied ahead of a performance after an emailed bomb threat.

Authorities continue to investigate the incident at The Lodge.

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