Fake Chinese police cars hit Australia

Authorities in Australia are reportedly investigating the presence of fake Chinese police cars amid ongoing pro-Hong Kong independence demonstrations in Adelaide and Perth.

News Corp reports vehicles adorned with a Chinese police logo and the word ‘police’ written in Mandarin have been spotted in the South Australia and Western Australia capitals in recent days.

There are suggestions the fake police cars, which include a BMW 4 Series Coupe, were created to mirror the role of vehicles stationed in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, where the intent was to intimidate pro-democracy protesters.

According to reports, Western Australia Police have confirmed there is no law against decorating a car with another country’s police car design. It is illegal, however, to replicate any Australian police vehicle.

A Greens MP said the presence of the ‘fake’ Chinese cars should prompt an overview of Australian laws.

“It appears that our laws anticipate perhaps somebody impersonating an Australian police car but certainly not a Chinese cop car on the streets of Adelaide,” Greens MP Tammy Franks told the ABC.

Franks added that she would introduce a private member’s bill to “ensure impersonating police forces is illegal in South Australia and send a clear and strong message that we stand for peaceful protest and democracy”.

The sight of fake police cars comes as hundreds of pro-democracy activists gathered in cities around Australia in support of the Hong Kong demonstrators at the weekend.

Protests, including one involving about 500 people in Sydney – have called for democracy and freedom in the wake of alleged police brutality in Hong Kong.

The demonstrations started as a protest against a proposed extradition bill that would send criminal suspects to mainland China. They have since grown in opposition to China’s growing political influence.

Whoever is behind the appearance of fake police cars in at least two Australian cities has gone to extraordinary lengths to apparently stoke similar fears in pro-Hong Kong protesters Down Under.

This has led to claims on social media that the Chinese communist government is behind them.

“Media is a joke,” tweeted @Aussie PI. “The 'fake Chinese police car' in Adelaide is not fake. Absurdly, they expect us to believe it. The Chinese government is here, its police are here, monitoring unrest. Australia's sovereignty, law & order, has become a farce. What is it we are about anymore anyway.”

Another Twitter user, @JackHHazlewood, said: “Nothing to see here, just *checks notes* a fake Chinese police car being spotted in Australia. Absolutely no problem with Chinese influence in Aus being swept under the carpet whatsoever, nope.”