Ethnic Chinese community leader is first charged under Australia’s foreign interference law

Name: Australia’s last two accredited journalists in mainland China evacuated as diplomatic ties worsen
Uploaded: 2020-11-05T11:59:13.000Z
Duration: 3 min 39 s
Description: Australia’s last two accredited journalists in mainland China evacuated as diplomatic ties worsen

65-year-old Duong Di Sanh was charged by the Australian Federal Police with preparing to carry out a ‘foreign interference offence’

He was charged after a year-long joint investigation into his alleged relationship with an unspecified foreign intelligence agency

Reading Time:3 minutes

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Ties between the two countries have spiralled downward in the last few months over a number of issues, including alleged China influence in Australian affairs. Photo: Australian Prime Minister's Office

John PowerandSu-Lin Tan

Published: 7:59pm, 5 Nov 2020Updated: 10:43pm, 5 Nov 2020

The first person charged under Australia’s foreign interference law is a well-known member of the ethnic Chinese community, having been involved in the operations of a history museum and a community group accused of links to Beijing‘s political influence efforts.

Duong Di Sanh was charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Thursday with preparing to carry out a “foreign interference offence”, the first case of its kind since Canberra’s passage of sweeping legislation against covert interference in 2018. The law criminalises actions that are intended to interfere with democratic processes or provide intelligence to overseas governments.

Duong, who also goes by Sunny, serves as deputy chairman of the Museum of Chinese Australian History, a popular tourist attraction in Melbourne’s Chinatown, and is also president of the Oceania Federation of Chinese Organisations, which represents ethnic Chinese from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Geoff Wade, a historian who has studied Sino-Asian ties and Chinese influence efforts, has said on Twitter that the federation is a member of the United Front network, which promotes Beijing‘s interests overseas, such as its stance on the reunification of mainland China and Taiwan.

Duong, an ethnic Chinese from Vietnam who immigrated to Australia in the 1970s, is known to have been active with the United Front network on his own accord for a number of years, local community sources said, adding that there was no “formal” United Front representation in Australia.

Those who know Duong in Melbourne described him as someone who liked to keep a low profile but had a connection with the Australian Liberal Party.

Mark Wang, chief executive of the Museum of Chinese Australian History, was surprised to learn the news, but said neither he nor the museum had any knowledge of Duong’s personal affairs.

“He is an elected volunteer board member and is a good member,” Wang said.

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Australia’s last two accredited journalists in mainland China evacuated as diplomatic ties worsen

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