\n Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forced to evacuate his official residence Tuesday night after a bomb threat was made against him by opponents of a religious organization that is banned in China.\n <\/p>\n
\n The prime minister posted a photo of his dog, Toto, inside the Lodge, his residence in Canberra, to social media Wednesday, thanking Australian police and saying, \u201cToto on alert but all good.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n He later said such threats cannot be \u201ctaken for granted.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just a reminder, take every opportunity to tell people, turn the heat down for goodness sake. Like, you know, we can\u2019t take these things for granted. Turn it down,\u201d Albanese said during an event in Melbourne.\n <\/p>\n
\n The bomb threats were made ahead of performances in Australia by Shen Yun, a classical Chinese music and dance group that is backed by the Falun Gong religious movement.\n <\/p>\n
\n The Falun Gong emerged in China in the mid-1990s, surging in popularity before it was banned and brutally suppressed on the mainland for its protests against the Chinese government.\n <\/p>\n
\n Two emails, written in Chinese and seen by CNN, threatened harm against the Australian prime minister if Shen Yun\u2019s upcoming shows went ahead, and falsely claimed that explosives had been placed at Albanese\u2019s residence.\n <\/p>\n
\n The emails were sent to the dance group\u2019s host organization, the Falun Dafa Association, on February 10 and February 22, according to a spokesperson for the group\u2019s Australia branch.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cAll threats have been reported to Australian national security and law enforcement authorities. We appreciate the steps taken to ensure public safety and to protect elected officials, including the Prime Minister,\u201d the Falun Dafa Association of Australia said in a statement.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe coordinated pattern of bomb threats, death threats, and systematic intimidation constitutes more than harassment \u2014 it reflects tactics consistent with state-sponsored intimidation designed to silence dissent beyond China\u2019s borders.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Australian Federal Police said it responded to an \u201calleged security incident\u201d in the capital area at about 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cA thorough search of a protection establishment was undertaken and nothing suspicious was located,\u201d a police spokesperson said. \u201cThere is no current threat to the community or public safety.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told Australia\u2019s \u201cToday\u201d program that those working at the prime minister\u2019s residence \u201chad to be removed for a couple of hours until police searched it and ensured that it was safe for people to return.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n The emails threatening the Australian prime minister are similar to other emails received from local Shen Yun dance presenters in multiple countries over the past two weeks, including in South Korea, Denmark and Austria, Leeshai Lemish, a Shen Yun narrator based in the United States, told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
\n Lemish said his group has tracked about 200 similar threats against them since March 2024 and they all follow a \u201cpattern of harassment and sabotage of performances.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n China\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it \u201cconsistently opposed all kinds of violent attacks.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt must be pointed out that the so-called Shen Yun performances are by no means normal cultural activities, but rather a political tool used by the Falun Gong organization to spread cult information and amass money,\u201d ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in a press briefing Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n