Foreign Interference Suspect Quits Victorian Liberal Party

A Melbourne-based Asian community leader, and former Victorian political candidate, has quit the Liberal Party after being the first person officially charged under Australia’s foreign interference laws.

Di Sanh Duong, 65, also known as Sunny Duong, was charged last week with allegedly “preparing for a foreign interference offence” under the 2018 National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Act.

The law carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Duong was the Liberal candidate for the seat of Richmond in the 1996 Victorian elections. He resigned from the Liberal Party over the weekend.

He has also been stood down from his board position with the Museum of Chinese Australian History which said it was “shocked and surprised” by the charges.

However, Duong still heads the Oceania Federation of Chinese Organisations from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos Inc. and was photographed with current Acting Minister of Immigration Alan Tudge in June this year.

When asked about Duong, Tudge told a multicultural press conference this week that the matter was under investigation by the Australian Federal Police and he could not comment.

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• Melbourne Man Charged With Foreign Interference a Pro-Beijing Campaigner

The foreign interference laws were rushed through Parliament in 2018 by then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in response to reports of Beijing-linked interference activities in Australia’s political circles and university institutions.

A spokesperson from Beijing’s Foreign Ministry denied conducting interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.

Duong has previously been an active campaigner for pro-Beijing policies in Australia, including supporting the Chinese Communist Party’s claims to Taiwan and in the East China Sea.

Duong is currently out on bail and will appear in court in March.