Chinese-Australian businessman Chau Chak Wing wins defamation case over report linking him to Communist Party, foreign interference

Chau was awarded US$450,000 over claims he was a well-connected member of the CCP involved in influence-peddling and corruption

Concerns about Chinese interference in Australian politics led to landmark foreign interference laws being passed in 2018

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Chinese-Australian businessman Chau Chak Wing leaves the Federal Court in Sydney. Photo: EPA

Published: 2:43pm, 2 Feb 2021Updated: 10:43pm, 2 Feb 2021

Two Australian media companies have been ordered to pay billionaire Chinese-Australian businessman Chau Chak Wing A$590,000 (US$450,000) after a court found he had been defamed by a media investigation into alleged Chinese interference in Australian politics.

Chau, a prominent philanthropist and political donor, sued the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Nine over a 2017 episode of investigative programme Four Corners he claimed depicted him as a well-connected member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) involved in influence-peddling and corruption.

On Tuesday, the Federal Court of Australia ruled the programme, which was hosted by award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie, contained four “untrue and seriously defamatory” suggestions about Chau, including that he had donated large sums to Australia’s main political parties to influence them to act in the interests of Beijing and had paid a US$200,000 bribe to John Ashe, the former president of the UN General Assembly.

The claims about Chau made him the focus of concerns about Chinese interference in Australia’s democracy, which led to landmark foreign interference laws being passed in 2018 and placed serious strain on Canberra’s relations with Beijing.

Born in Guangdong province, Chau made his fortune in the Guangzhou real estate market and acquired Australian citizenship after emigrating in the 1980s. Well-known for his interest in philanthropic causes and political connections, the chair of Kingold Group has hosted former prime ministers including John Howard, Kevin Rudd and Bob Hawke at his luxurious Imperial Springs resort in Guangzhou.