Communist Party links called ‘false’

A PROMINENT Tasmanian Buddhist leader has denied an organisation he is president of has any links to the Chinese Communist Party.

Xin De Wang, also known as Master Wang, leads the Hobart-based Tasmanian Chinese Buddhist Academy of Australia and made Tasmania his home about 30 years ago.

The spiritual leader has donated millions of dollars to local causes including the Red Cross and the Salvation Army and is behind the mammoth, $1 billion Tasmanian Chinese Buddhist Temple and Cultural Park being built in Campania.

But it’s in his role as president of the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China that has drawn criticism from leading public ethics academic Professor Clive Hamilton.

Prof Hamilton says the group is a “united front organisation” at the heart of the Chinese Communist Party’s influence operations in Australia.

Prof Hamilton, who re- leased his book, Silent Invasion: China’s Influence in Australia in February, will speak at a soldout event at the University of Tasmania Sandy Bay campus tonight to explain what he believes is the Chinese Communist Party’s influence and interference operations happening in Tasmania.

“I’ll be showing that the structure of the Chinese Communist Party influence activities on the mainland are now being transplanted to Tasmania,” he said.

“The objective is to win over elite Tasmanian politics, business and broader society and persuade them that Beijing’s stance on a range of issues is the right one and that Tasmania should not put up any obstacles to the growth of the influence of the Chinese state in Tasmania.”

Master Wang released a statement, saying any allegation that his group was linked to the Chinese Communist Party was “baseless and false”.

“We have no affiliation with, nor are we instructed by, the Chinese Communist Party or any party, for that matter.

“We do not use this organisation to conduct anything that goes against Australian values, or to influence state policies.

“Opposing improper interference of foreign forces is the right of Australia as a sovereign country, and I fully agree with and support this.”

Prof Hamilton said the rise of “red Buddhism” — the influence of the Chinese Communist Party though the ideology of Chinese Buddhism had reached Tasmanian shores.

He also said Tasmanians should be wary of developer investment from China.

Master Wang said the reunification group encouraged Chinese investment in Tasmania provided it complied with Australian laws.