Australia’s Chinese Community Takes Heat From ‘Manchurian Candidate’ Revelations

U.S. audiences were riveted to movie ‘The Manchurian Candidate,’ which hit the screens at during the Cold War in the ‘60s. Its plot centred around Raymond Shaw, a Korean War hero and scion of a political family, who was brainwashed into subverting America.The notion that the “other side” could infiltrate the political system with such ease and get their pawns to do their bidding astonished moviegoers.

An allegation of a ‘Manchurian Candidate’ hit the headlines in Australia recently. A media group broadcast claims that Bo “Nick” Zhao, a Liberal Party member, was allegedly offered $1 million by Chinese agents to contest the election to the federal parliament that took place in May 2019.The luxury car dealer, who later approached the Australian secret service and revealed the overture, was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room in March 2019, prompting a coroner’s inquest.

Even as the Zhao controversy refused to die down, another one surfaced. Australian newspapers front-paged news of an alleged “defector,” Wang Liqiang, who is said to have sought protection in Australia. Wang is said to be in the know of Chinese “influence peddling” operations in Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In response to Wang's claims, Beijing says he is a convicted fraudster and was wanted by police.

Australia’s secret service confirmed that it was actively pursuing allegations of the “bid to penetrate Australia’s parliament.” Mike Burgess, head of the Australian secret service, said, “Hostile foreign intelligence activity continues to pose a real threat to our nation and its security.” Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the allegations of China’s“attempt to infiltrate the Federal Parliament” and Wang’s confessions as "deeply disturbing and troubling.”

However, many are not buying these latest string of spy allegations. After Wang’s allegations made headlines, a Chinese newspaper released screen grabs of a footage in which he is allegedly seen making a confession during proceedings in a court in October 2016. As “inconsistencies” emerge in Wang’s story, James Laurenceson, acting director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology, Sydney, says “Australian journalists and politicians, who count themselves as China hawks, are the ones breaking the Wang story and talking it up.”

Meanwhile, former Australian prime minister Paul Keating, who has been a strong proponent of greater engagement throughout Asia, criticized the nation's current approach of dealing with China. Keating warned that “China-phobia” in the media and security service has left Australia ill-equipped to adapt to Beijing’s rising clout.

The reporting of the “spy affair” by media outlets has reignited the dormant debate about how Beijing seeks to peddle its influence in Australia. Academics have argued that the Beijing’s reach has extended into Australian politics and other walks of life.

The ‘Silent Invasion’ theory may find many takers in light of the “spy scandal.” Typically, all nations try to spread their influence via ‘hard’ or ‘soft power.’ A nation may deploy instruments of hard power like threats and direct or covert military action to force another state to change its behavior. Conversely, a nation may try to influence another state’s behavior by leveraging its cultural attractiveness or political values. Votaries of the Silent Invasion thesis have argued that China deploys ‘sharp power’— defined as efforts by an authoritarian regime to penetrate and manipulate the political environment elsewhere. Professor Clive Hamilton argues that the People’s Republic has covertly created a network of agents and is weakening Australia’s sovereignty. Hamilton says he had a tough time publishing his book ‘Silent Invasion’ after three publishers backed out. China's embassy in Australia said Hamilton was habituated to "playing up the ‘China threat’" and termed his allegations “racist bigotry.”

Local Chinese-Australians called out Hamilton for "fear-mongering" even as Australia's race discrimination commissioner cautioned that it could incite " anti-Chinese sentiment."

Hamilton claims that Chinese donors with ties to Beijing finance political parties, citing the example of billionaire Huang Xiangmo who doled out around $2 million to political parties directly or through his businesses. Security agencies then raised Huang’s links to the Chinese Communist Party, leading the Australian government to strip him of permanent residency and reject his citizenship application while Huang.

In December 2017, a top politician, Sam Dastyari, was forced to resign his parliamentary seat after it emerged that Huang paid the former’s personal legal bills. In turn, the government passed a law banning donations of more than A$100 to parties and individual candidates by foreign governments and state-owned entities. Then Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull had cited“disturbing reports about Chinese influence” for his move to clamp down on foreign interference last year. China’s embassy in Australia described the move as reeking of “Cold War” mindset.

Following the current “spy scandal,” Australia has assured its people that the government was geared up to the challenges posed by “foreign interference.” The government plans to allocate A$88 million to establish a ‘Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce’ led by its domestic intelligence service. But the local Chinese-Australian community may be a worried lot, following former spy chief Duncan Lewis assertion recently that interference by foreign regimes amounted to a greater threat than terrorism. Some Chinese-Australians feel targeted by the foreign contribution legislation and the Wang-Zhao episodes have deepened the shadow of doubt and fear over the community. Members of the community say they should not be forced to live in fear or perceived to be a Fifth Column if they take pride in China’s cultural heritage. Their fate now hinges upon Wang’s debriefing.

(Kalpit Mankikar is a journalist who is currently pursuing his China Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science.)