Our Chinese MP Gladys Liu wants ASIO help

China-born Australian MP asks if ASIO could vet anyone seeking her for face-to-face meetings.

Gladys Liu yesterday. Picture: Kym Smith

Chinese-born Australian MP Gladys Liu has asked chief spy Duncan Lewis whether ASIO could vet anyone requesting her for face-to-face meetings.

The Liberal MP was also told by ASIO to consider deleting the popular Chinese social media platform WeChat, which was already downloaded on her mobile.

At a special security briefing for new MPs, Ms Liu asked Mr Lewis if there was a process for ASIO to run background checks on people and organisations before­ she agreed to meetings.

Ms Liu bombarded Mr Lewis with questions last month during “pollie school’’, a security briefing offered to new MPs as part of their induction to parliament.

She told the ASIO boss that as the only migrant Chinese poli­tician, she received a high volume of meeting requests.

Mr Lewis told her the security agency would not clear visitors in advance. Instead, the ASIO boss advised all new MPs they would receive a tap on the shoulder after­wards if they met anyone deemed a security risk.

The new member for Chisholm, who delivered her first speech to parliament yesterday, has been the subject of intense scrutiny, with warnings that the Chinese Communist Party had sought to build ties with the Hong Kong-born politician.

The Australian can also reveal that the Liberal Party has been focuse­d on ensuring Ms Liu does not accidentally find herself embroiled in a scandal, bringing in former ACT Liberal Party director Zac Lombardo to help set up her office.

He has since moved on.

During the June briefing for MPs, Ms Liu also raised WeChat, telling Mr Lewis the app was already­ on her phone.

She asked whether it was a ­security issue and whether she should delet­e the app.

Mr Lewis advised her that it was up to individual politicians to determine what social media platforms and applications they used, but there were risks assoc­i­ated with WeChat.

During another pollie school briefing for the new MPs on how to declare items on their register of pecuniary interests, Ms Liu asked how she should declare an object she had been given that she was unable to describe.

Her continued questions about the mystery item raised eye­­brows among other MPs in attend­ance, as she could not ­articulate exactly what the object actually was.

Scott Morrison gave Ms Liu a rock-star reception in parliament yesterday, raising her arms and waving to her cheering supporters looking on from the public gallery.

The celebration came after her emotional first speech where she addressed the chamber in Mandarin and said that as the first Chinese­-Australian woman elect­ed to federal parliament, she was “determined to do my best”.

“I do not underestimate the enormity of being the first ­Chinese-born member of this place and I know people will see everything I do through the lens of my birthplace,” she said.

“But I hope that they will see more than just the first Chinese woman elected to this place.

“It is only natural that our parlia­ment reflects the make-up of our brilliant and diverse society.”

Ms Liu, a speech pathologist, replaced former Liberal Julia Banks in the marginal Victorian seat after winning the election by fewer than 1000 votes.

During the election campaign, Charles Sturt University professor Clive Hamilton claimed Chinese-language documents revealed that Ms Liu and her Labor opponent, Jennifer Yang, were both involved in groups linked to the Chinese ­Communist Party.

Records showed a fundraising function for Ms Liu’s campaign last year included guests from Melbourne Chinese community groups officially endorsed by the Chinese government’s Overseas Chinese Affairs Office — an arm of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department.