Three Iraqi diplomats and their families are seeking asylum in Australia after their government ordered them back to their embattled country, the government said today.

A second Chinese defector has backed claims by a diplomat who left his job at China’s consulate in Sydney that Beijing is running a large spy network in Australia and other Western countries.

Australia will consider a Chinese diplomat’s request for political asylum on its merits, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said today.

Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents were set to hold a candlelight vigil today to mark the 16th anniversary of China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.