Chinese bid to ‘nail’ politics

Plan linked to HCC candidate Tang

AN article linked to a magazine headed by Hobart City Council candidate Yongbei Tang has called on Chinese people to “put a nail in Tasmania’s politics” by backing the would-be alderman.

Online news outlet Tasmanian Chinese Network on Saturday published an article attributed to Chinese News Tasmania, accusing the state’s media of “throwing mud” at Ms Tang because it was “scared of the rise of the Chinese community”.

Ms Tang, who is editor and publisher of Chinese News Tasmania but denied writing the article, has been criticised for alleged links with the Chinese Communist Party, a claim the Australian citizen has rejected.

The article noted “Australia is a society dominated by white people” and called on Chinese people living in Tasmania to back Ms Tang’s election.

“I want to see a powerful Chinese community,” the article, translated from Mandarin to English, said.

“One councillor is far from enough. We need to put a nail in Tasmania’s politics. And add another one four years later.

“We have dominated business circles, now we need to establish ourselves in politics.

“The Chinese community will become more established only when business power and political power join forces.”

Yesterday the Mercury reported Ms Tang, as a journalist, attended last year’s Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress, a meeting of people who advise the Chinese Communist Party. Ms Tang’s name is listed on the board of directors of a Chinese government-linked media organisation that requires members not to damage China’s reputation or security.

Silent Invasion author Clive Hamilton this week warned the Chinese government had its sights on Tasmania, raising concerns about the Chinese Communist Party’s influence on the state.

Ms Tang said she had not been told she was on that board but she would never criticise the Chinese government.

Ms Tang was also on the board of the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China between October 2017 and December 2018. The group is considered the main United Front group in Australia, meaning it works to promote favourable perceptions of Chinese Communist Party rule.

Ms Tang said she had never received funds from a foreign government, was not a member of the Chinese Communist Party and was not linked to the Chinese government.

“If I am a good friend of China, what is wrong with it? I can make a good bridge and diplomatic ties between China and Australia,” she said.