How much have the Chinese paid their mate Sam?

Labor Senator Sam Dastyari pledged to respect China's position on the South China Sea at an election campaign press conference he held with a Chinese political donor who had previously paid his legal bills. He has also urged Australia to drop its opposition to China's air defence zone in the contested region. The comments, reported in the Chinese media, conflict with Labor's official position on the issue which is that Australia should oppose China's stance and authorise our navy and airforce to conduct freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea.... Senator Cory Bernardi on Wednesday labelled Senator Dastyari the "Manchurian candidate" after he admitted in the Senate that he was wrong to ask an Australian-Chinese donor, Top Education Institute's Minshen Zhu, to pay an expenses bill of $1670 for him when he exceeded publicly funded travel entitlements...., Now it can be revealed that on June 17 in the lead-up to the July election this year Senator Dastyari assured the Chinese community he would respect China's stance on the South China Sea, according to articles in the Chinese media. "The South China Sea is China's own affair. On this issue, Australia should remain neutral and respect China's decision," he said. Also speaking at the Sydney press conference beside Senator Dastyari was political donor and philanthropist Huang Xiangmo, who The Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday had complained that Australian MPs were not delivering on donations from the Chinese community. He suggested the Australian Chinese community should use political donations to satisfy their political requests. Mr Huang has previously paid a legal bill for Senator Dastyari.

Originally published as How much have the Chinese paid their mate Sam?