Rejection of Chinese-Australian’s election nomination sparks racism probe
- Andy Yin, 26, says the Liberal Party’s nomination review committee scrutinised his commercial dealings and asked how he got funds to buy property at age 19
- The party last year picked Yin to contest in Strathfield, a Sydney suburb home to a large Chinese community
Australia’s Liberal Party has been accused of racially discriminating against a prominent Chinese politician after his candidature for a seat in Saturday’s New South Wales state election was rejected.
The party last year picked Andy Yin to contest in Strathfield, a Sydney suburb home to a large Chinese community. It interviewed him in February as part of its nominee-vetting process to check Yin’s antecedents, including his character and business interests.
The 26-year-old said the nomination review committee deeply scrutinised his commercial dealings and asked how he got funds to buy a property at the age of 19. The panel also questioned his links with multiple Chinese-Australian trade groups such as the Greater Sydney Chinese Business Forum.
Yin said the task force dismissed his nomination earlier this month without giving a reason. The party later announced John-Paul Baladi, a politician of Sudanese descent, as its face in Strathfield.
The Sydney-born Liberal member claimed race played a role in his party’s decision, which he has taken up with the country’s Human Rights Commission (HRC), national broadcaster ABC reported.
“I was told by many persons close to the respondents that my candidature was rejected because I have been accused, variously, of being a ‘Chinese spy’ and/or a candidate of Chinese heritage was not to the benefit of the party in Strathfield,” Yin said in his complaint to the HRC.
Yin, a major party donor, has been spotted hobnobbing with Liberal heavyweights, including former prime minister Tony Abbott.
“I believe they may have thought donations I made to the party were from the Chinese Communist Party and I was the middleman,” he told ABC.
The HRC said it has initiated an investigation into Yin’s complaint that also names five respondents, including NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet.
China-Australia tensions, racism fuelling Asian ‘reluctance’ to join politics
The party defended its screening mechanism as “fair” and said it has fielded several Asian-Australian contestants in the state election where the Liberal-National coalition is projected to cede power to the centre-left Labor party after a 12-year reign.
Greater Sydney Chinese Business Forum chief Daniel Lin said the saga involving Yin would have “strong” ripple effect on the Chinese community.
“Especially at the moment, when the state election is approaching, the concerns caused by this incident will affect the final voting decisions of Chinese and other ethnic minority voters,” he said.
The Perrottet administration is also facing voter dissatisfaction over a range of issues, including housing shortages and rising cost of living.
NSW will be the last federal, state or territory election until at least mid-2024. A national election is due to be held in mid-2025.
