Canberra: A bomb scare at the official residence of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stemmed from written threats directed at the Chinese dance and music troupe Shen Yun, which Beijing bans.
Emails seen by local media warned Shen Yun performers to cancel their upcoming Australian shows or risk explosives being detonated at the Prime Minister’s official home in Canberra. The threats were first reported by a newspaper linked to the Falun Gong, a spiritual movement also banned in China and closely associated with Shen Yun.
Authorities declined to comment directly on the contents of the emails but confirmed they responded to an ‘alleged security incident’ at the prime minister’s residence on February 24. Police stated that no suspicious items were found.
Albanese was evacuated from the Lodge, the Prime Minister’s official residence in the capital, at about 18:00 local time (07:00 GMT) and taken to another location for several hours as a precaution, police confirmed.
One of the threatening emails, reportedly written in Chinese, claimed that large quantities of nitroglycerine explosives had been placed around the Lodge.
It warned that if the performance went ahead, the prime minister’s residence would be reduced to ruins and ‘blood will flow like a river.’ When asked about the emails, a spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police declined to provide further details.
In a social media post on Wednesday morning, Albanese thanked police and members of the public who had sent supportive messages. The PM shared a photograph of his cavoodle, Toto, standing guard at the door, writing: “Toto on alert but all good.”
Later on February 25, after being interrupted by protesters at a public event, Albanese renewed his call to reduce the intensity of political discourse in Australia. The PM urged people to ‘turn the heat down,’ saying such incidents are a reminder that security and democratic stability should not be taken for granted.
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