The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has referred a matter involving suspicious political support for Teal MP Monique Ryan for further investigation.
The move comes after a video emerged showing two volunteers of Chinese appearance, Jessica and Steven, wearing campaign shirts and holding flyers for the Teal candidate.
Jessica tells the interviewer that her “friends” recommended she support Ryan, and that the MP for the affluent electorate of Kooyong had done a “very good” job.
The pair then speaks in Mandarin, which is when Jessica name-drops the “Hubei Association,” a branch of the China-based Hubei Provincial Federation of Overseas Chinese, which claims to be a cultural group facilitating connections for people originating from the province.
“The Hubei Association president Ji Jianmin, how should I say this, he required members of the Chinese diaspora support her,” Jessica said.
Steven then says that Ryan’s “values” align with Chinese people and that the community needed to support her.
The organisation has been accused of working with the United Work Front Department, a branch of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that gathers intelligence on and seeks to gain influence over individuals and organisations outside China.
This is not the first time Chinese community groups have used their sway to direct members on voting. In the 2022 election, groups on the Chinese app WeChat were asked to vote against then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison because he was supposedly “anti-Chinese.”
‘Grateful’ for Support: Ryan
The candidate spoke to media on April 29, saying she was grateful for her volunteers.“I think those two volunteers who have been attributed in the video that’s been shown on social media are people who attended a dinner where a community leader said that he supported me and he supported my values and thought I'd been very supportive of the community in recent years and for that reason he thought people should support me,” she said.
“I’m grateful for the support Chinese Australians have given me in the last three years and I’ve tried to work hard for the Chinese Australian community in Kooyong, 20 percent of the constituents in Kooyong are Chinese Australians and they deserve to be represented, I’ve tried to do that.
Claims of Foreign Interference
Shadow home affairs spokesman James Paterson called for an urgent investigation.“Australian elections must be decided by Australians only,” he said.
“An organisation connected to the United Front Work Department, which is the overseas influence arm of the Chinese Communist Party that Xi Jinping has described as his quote-unquote, ’magic weapon,' has been directing people to volunteer on the campaign of Monique Ryan in Kooyong,” Paterson told ABC Radio on April 29.
“Now, if those reports are confirmed, that could constitute a serious act of foreign interference, which is against the law, and so I think it’s critical that the Federal Police and ASIO investigate this and that Monique Ryan be transparent about what involvement she’s had in this scheme.”
The AEC told The Epoch Times that it was aware of the claims and Senator Paterson’s calls for an investigation.
“The AEC will review this matter in the same way that we review all matters that are raised with us,” a spokesperson said.
“This includes referral for consideration by the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce.”
The spokesperson said the AEC was not contacted by The Age newspaper, who first published the claims, prior to the original story running.
“It is important to note that Australia has a secret ballot,” the spokesperson said.
“Nobody knows how another individual votes. Your vote is your choice. We have also published advice to voters about influence in Australian elections, including a general reminder for all voters that every voter is responsible for making their own decision about how to vote and who to support at this federal election.”
