A New Zealand politician linked to a Chinese military spy school once worked for a powerful Australian parliamentary committee, Freedom of Information documents have revealed.
NZ National Party MP Jian Yang has faced heavy scrutiny in New Zealand in recent months after failing to fully disclose he once worked at a Chinese military-linked academy and a foreign language school that trains spies.
His residency papers have just been made public and show he briefly interned with a sensitive Australian parliamentary committee before moving to New Zealand.
"During September and November 1994 I worked as an intern in Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, the Australian Parliament," Mr Yang wrote in his New Zealand residency application in 1998.
"I was asked to write a report on the extension of social and cultural ties between Australia and China.
"My report was highly thought of and was marked HD (High Distinction) by my two supervisors."
The documents, obtained by the NZ Herald under Freedom of Information, also reveal Mr Yang was the president of the Chinese embassy-backed Chinese Students and Scholars Association while studying at the Australian National University a decade ago.
Mr Yang has been under pressure in New Zealand after revelations he once worked at the Luoyang Foreign Languages Institute, which trains spies, and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Engineering Academy.
He has repeatedly denied any ongoing links to the Chinese Communist Party, and maintains he has not been interviewed by the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service.
"I refute any allegations that question my loyalty to New Zealand … although I was not born here I am proud to call myself a New Zealander, obey our laws and contribute to this country," he said in September.
Mr Yang moved to New Zealand in 1999, where he became a lecturer in political science at the University of Auckland, and then entered parliament on the National Party's list in 2014.
He re-entered parliament at the recent general election after being placed 33rd on the party's list.
In a note accompanying the document release to the NZ Herald, Immigration New Zealand said: "We note that Mr Yang met all the requirements under the relevant legislation at the time of his residence application and no character concerns were identified at the time."
Mr Yang left China in 1994 to study at the ANU's Department of International Relations, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, where he earnt a master's degree in his first year.
