In his press conference on June 22, Mr. Chen Yonglin said that one of the reasons for breaking his silence and going public was that a good friend of his had been harassed and threatened. Someone claiming to be an Australian immigration officer had called the friend, an ethnic Chinese who has been an Australian citizen for ten years, and stated that her citizenship could be revoked. This upset Mr. Chen, who said: “They threaten anyone who helps me. If my friends become too scared to help, I will have nowhere to go and would have no protection. At least for now, I am still safe with my friends.”

Our reporter interviewed the friend, who shelters Chen, by telephone and learned that she reported the threatening phone call to the police the day after it occurred on June 21, at 11 PM. Attending to the case promptly, the police sent ASIO officers to Mr. Chen's location to investigate thoroughly. They said that, should it be necessary, they would implement measures to protect Mr. Chen and his family.
During the interview, the friend was asked why she would take such risks to aid Chen when he is seeking political asylum.

She said she admires him for following his conscience and for daring to stand up alone and face the autocratic system of the entire Communist Chinese government, which appears to be so strong. Though an ordinary expatriate Chinese, she wants to offer him both material and moral support. She thinks that expatriate Chinese in Auatralia have less and less freedom because of the Chinese consulate's efforts to influence and control people. The fact that many people do not live according to the Australian concepts of freedom and democracy when they follow the wishes of the CCP makes her sad.

She hopes that the current difficulty faced by Chen Yonglin will help the Chinese community to recognize that, since we live together in beautiful and free Australia, we should uphold the freedoms of speech and assembly, which are basic human rights, and the universal values of Western society. She said that the CCP should not be allowed to wantonly bring communist ideology, abandoned by nearly all mankind, onto Australian soil, and that the local Chinese community should not help the CCP to obtain its objectives, as such collusion would embarrass them throughout the world.

She also said that Chen Yonglin's situation is still difficult and they both hope that other’s will step forward to voice their support. She believes that more and more people, from both the Chinese community and mainstream Australian society, will step forward to applaud Mr. Chen's actions, and, as they realize the significance of his defection from the CCP, offer him help.