Yesterday, Lismore resident Corey Trevor was picking up his son from school and was driving past Trinity Catholic College when a car passed him which he said “was decorated to look like a Chinese police car”.

Corey contacted The Lismore App, concerned that the car’s driver was attempting to intimidate Chinese people living here in the Lismore community.

“I’ve been to China and I knew that the markings were the same as the Chinese fleet cars,” he said.

“There’s been media reports this year of these cars appearing in Adelaide and people there were concerns there that Chinese nationalists were trying to intimidate pro-democracy Chinese people who live and work here.”

Pictured: A Chinese police car in Shanghai with the markings of China's Ministry of Public Security. (Source: Wikimedia Commons:Navigator 84) 

“So I went to the Lismore cop shop and told them about it and about the ABC and Channel 7 reports saying it’s a problem in Adelaide.

“The cops said to me that the car doesn’t look like our cars and it was benign. I said it’s not benign - you’re wrong.

“If we went to Hong Kong and drove around in a British police car it would be weird.

“It’s not a joke – I’m concerned that Chinese nationalists are attempting to project Chinese power here.

“It’s outrageous that people can drive around in a way that’s intimidating a section of the population.

“About 20 years ago when the Tiananmen square happened, Chinese media in Australia were pro-democracy. 

“But in the last 20 years, we’ve seen more Chinese media becoming pro-Beijing and more students are pro-Beijing too.  

“Only a minority are now seeing Australia as a free open democratic place.

“That’s reprehensible – we don’t intimidate people here.

Corey said he was aware that recently, an advisor to Malcolm Turnbull returned from China and was in Federation Square in Melboune having a coffee with his wife and three Chinese agents came and sat at his table. 

“He reported it to the police and the same agent did it again to intimidate him.

“My feeling is even though this car looks benign – it’s an ugly development in international relations.”

In August this year, ABC news reported sightings of a similar car in Adelaide, after a series of rallies around Australia were held in support of Hong Kong's pro-democracy demonstrators, with one event in Melbourne turning violent. 

The Adelaide protest saw about 100 pro-Hong Kong protesters clash with pro-China activists in Adelaide's Rundle Mall.

The ABC reported that the organiser of that rally “was unclear about the owner's motivations”, but that “there are people who feel intimidated by it”.

In the ABC report, the organiser said "I think it's highly inappropriate, especially when you pretend to represent a foreign law enforcement unit in a Western country.

"Initially we thought it was a bit of a joke. We did receive reports of it a few days before our protest… I was told there was actually another one that started first in Perth, so now we are starting to get a bit concerned”.

In the same ABC news story, South Australia Premier Steven Marshall is reported to have described it as "quite a curious situation" but said police were investigating.

"My understanding is that the police are doing an investigation, they've been able to identify the vehicle, now they're trying to figure out whether there has been any breach of any of the existing laws," he told ABC Radio Adelaide.

"Of course, it's illegal to impersonate a police officer in South Australia, so the police are now conducting that investigation to see whether or not a breach of the state laws has occurred."