Head of a group linked to Communist Party attended Gladys Liu‘s maiden speech
Liberal MP Gladys Liu brought the head of a group linked to China’s overseas propaganda arm to her maiden speech held in Canberra’s Parliament House.
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Liberal MP Gladys Liu brought the head of a group linked to China’s overseas propaganda arm to a celebratory event held in the government party room of Parliament House in Canberra.
Zhou Guohua was among a large group of supporters who joined Ms Liu at the party to celebrate the Hong Kong-born MP’s maiden speech on July 23.
Mr Zhou is the president of the Shanghainese Association of Australia, an organisation named in parliament as part of the United Front, an arm of the Chinese Communist Party which spreads propaganda and seeks to develop influence overseas.
The revelations have sparked crossbench senator Rex Patrick to call for more controls to be put in place over where representatives of foreign-linked political organisations can go in Parliament House.
Mr Zhou was one of about 60 supporters, including a Chinese media organisations, who attended the large drinks event in the government party room.
Chinese-language media reports about the occasion celebrated Ms Lui as the first Chinese-born person to be elected to the Australian federal parliament and also mentioned that a number of cabinet ministers attended the event.
The Shanghainese Association of Australia is tied to the Shanghai branch of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, part of the United Front.
The group was among a number of CCP-linked groups which donated money to Ms Liu in 2014 at a fundraising dinner for her failed bid to become a state upper house MP.
A spokesman for Ms Liu said the Australian Chinese community was proud of her election to the Melbourne seat of Chisholm.
“Many community leaders where invited to Ms Liu’s maiden speech to celebrate the milestone of being the first female member of the House of Representatives of Chinese descent,” he said.
“Ms Liu has never sought, nor paid for membership of the Shanghainese Association of Australia.”
Senator Patrick said the presence of foreign diplomats and representatives of foreign political organisations in the non-public areas of Parliament House should be “tightly controlled”.
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He repeated his calls for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to direct ASIO to undertake a “thorough investigation” into Ms Liu’s association with groups connected to the Chinese government.
“MPs and Senators and their staff are responsible for signing in visitors to Parliament House and for escorting them inside the building,” he said.
“Serious questions have been raised about Ms Liu’s connections with China’s ‘United Front’ organisations and she has failed to provide the parliament with an adequate account and explanation of her foreign political associations.”