Online threats against a Chinese journalist working in Australia have now extended to a US publication and her family in mainland China.

Anonymous online users have called Vicky Xiuzhong Xu's father, from whom she is estranged, to be "punished" for his daughter's views and to be expelled from China.

Journalist and China researcher Vicky Xiuzhong Xu. Monica Pronk

In one of a number of posts viewed by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, a social media user threatened to "pay him a visit".

The posts, shared hundreds of times on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, were picked up by Chinese-American outlet College Daily, a Beijing mouthpiece, which published an article a few days later.

How the College Daily, a patriotic Chinese-American news outlet, depicted Vicky Xu, a journalist and researcher in an article on September 5.

The article asserted that Xu was an "American mouthpiece" and that she was only criticising the Chinese government to get political asylum in Australia.

Xu said College Daily did not contact her before publication. She said the claims were false and the decision not to contact her was "very unethical and unprofessional".

The website, whose target audience is Chinese students studying in the US and Canada, reportedly has more than 1 million daily readers, suggesting how it can make life hard for dissidents.

College Daily was separately accused by The New Yorker last month of publishing inaccurate and poorly sourced stories. The publication rejected those claims, saying The New Yorker had "made up some lies".

Xu, now a China researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think tank, has previously written for The New York Times and the Herald and has spoken about the online abuse she has received from individuals. However, this is the first time she has been targeted by a mainstream publication.

She said the threats against her were immoral and unlawful.

"This is Australia, it is illegal to make these threats to people, let alone it’s not ethical. When you disagree with me, you can have a debate with me," she said.

Xu, who studied journalism in China before becoming disillusioned with the Chinese Communist Party while working in the media in Australia, said her political views had ruptured her relationship with her parents.

"I have not spoken to [my parents] recently," she said. "I’m pretty estranged from my family and none of my actions have anything to do with them ... We have very, very different political opinions.

"They don’t like the fact that I used to work for The New York Times. They don’t know what the Australian Strategic Policy Institute is and, if they did, I don’t think they would like it," she said.

Fergus Ryan, a cyber researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the harassment of Xu was part of a trend of pro-Communist Party groups and media monitoring dissidents overseas.

"Vicky's satirical approach as a comedian and her fearless approach in her journalism has singled her out as a target for nationalistic trolls who hope to intimidate her into silence," Mr Ryan said.

It follows other incidents at Australian universities in which students have been targeted for perceived anti-Communist Party activities.

The parents of one mainland Chinese international student were contacted by Chinese government officials after their child attended a pro-Hong Kong democracy protest at the University of Queensland in early August.

Last Saturday, the Sydney University Chinese Students Association posted a message on social media that it said came from the Chinese consulate, advising students to be peaceful at pro-Hong Kong democracy protests.

The association itself added students should take photos of pro-democracy poster walls, known as Lennon Walls, on campus and report them to the university and the association, which would forward them to the consulate.

Joey, a vice-president of the association who did not give his last name, confirmed the post was made by a member of the association.

"This isn’t harmful. It’s just telling everyone: 'Try to be calm,' " Joey said.

He said he was not in touch with the consulate regularly. "I've only recently been in contact with them," he said.

A University of Sydney spokeswoman said the university "strongly supports the right of all our students to express opinions and political views in a respectful way" but did not condone the removal of Lennon Walls on campus.