00:02It's a phone call Wang Shaoying won't forget in a hurry.
00:07He said they could arrest me when I returned to China.
00:10The former Hungry Panda worker has been agitating for better pay and conditions for riders,
00:16many of whom are Chinese nationals, here on temporary visas.
00:20But when the riders used the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat to discuss protests or
00:26stopping work during Lunar New Year, authorities in China took notice and stepped in.
00:33People in the group chat were all saying that they got called by police in China.
00:37The message was clear, don't protest and don't be disruptive.
00:41Another Hungry Panda rider in the group, Wang Kaifa, says his father back in China was even
00:48pulled into his local police station.
00:52I was asleep when Dad called, sounding panicked.
00:55He said I got a call from a police station.
00:58What have you done overseas?
01:00Hungry Panda has firmly denied contacting Chinese police over this issue, suggesting they must
01:07have acted on their own.
01:08But the unusual intervention raises questions again about the reach of Chinese police and
01:14their willingness to place pressure on Chinese nationals here in Australia.
01:18The federal government says workers here shouldn't have to deal with pressure campaigns or foreign
01:25interference.
01:26They have a right to organise, they have a right to hold their employers to account.
01:32For Wang Zhaoying, there's a real sense of anxiety.
01:37I was wondering whether I got targeted.
01:39I felt super worried.
01:41Another layer of uncertainty in a precarious industry.
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