By Dominic Giannini in Canberra

An alleged plot by Chinese citizens to infiltrate a religious network in Australia had “a bit of a spy thriller feel to it”, according to court documents.

Three people have been charged in the ACT with reckless foreign interference, with police alleging three Chinese nationals were tasked by Beijing to infiltrate a Canberra-based Buddhist association, Guan Yin Citta, which is banned in China.

A 37-year-old Chinese woman, given the pseudonym Thomas Tyler, was charged with reckless foreign interference in 2025. Then 31-year-old Suri Zheng and a 25-year-old given the pseudonym Joseph Vance were charged with the same offence in February.

All three remain on bail.

Tyler has pleaded not guilty.

Messages between Tyler and the two co-accused, as well as a foreign official at China’s Public Security Bureau, range from 2022 to 2025, according to police documents tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court.

Tyler’s husband was also named as an employee of the public security bureau.

The unnamed foreign official subsequently asked Tyler to “infiltrate the enemy’s inner circle”, according to translations of WeChat messages outlined in the police documents.

The foreign official referred to Tyler as his niece throughout the translated conversations tendered to the court.

“You can slip in, climb as high as you can,” the foreign official told Tyler, to which the 37-year-old replied “are you serious?”, before adding “I’ll give it a proper go and see if I can sneak in”.

“Doesn’t this have a bit of a spy thriller feel to it. First, maintain confidentiality. Second, inform me immediately if anything arises,” the foreign official then replied to Tyler.

“If you climb high enough, you’ll be commended directly by the leaders in Beijing,” the official added.

Tyler had separately tasked Vance to investigate the Buddhist association and scrape data from its website, local news sites and social media posts, including about its organisational structures and activities, the documents reveal.

Information on the organisation and its late-leader Junhong Lu in Australia was taken from social media and Australian Securities and Investments Commission records, according to the police documents.

The foreign official also asked Tyler to call and inquire into the activities of the Buddhist association in Sydney and Melbourne.

Tyler forwarded the message to Zheng, suggesting “being undercover”.

“Just say ‘want to join to learn about this practice’,” Tyler wrote.

One witness provided a statement to police in October 2025 alleging he was tasked by Tyler and Zheng to covertly collect information about Guan Yin Citta, according to the court documents.

Beijing opposed the disruption of normal exchanges between people in China and other countries “under the pretext of ‘foreign interference’,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said in response to the February arrests.