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Gladys Liu

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Gladys Liu
MP
Member of Parliament
for Chisholm
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 May 2019
Preceded byJulia Banks
Personal details
Born (1964-04-06) 6 April 1964 (age 60)
British Hong Kong
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLiberal Party of Australia
Gladys Liu
Traditional Chinese廖嬋娥
Transcriptions
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingLiu6 Sim4 Ngor4

Gladys Liu (born 6 April 1964) is a Hong Kong-born Australian politician,[1] a Liberal Party member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Chisholm in Victoria since her election in May 2019. Born in Hong Kong, Liu was the first ethnically Chinese woman ever elected to the House, defeating the Australian Labor Party's Jennifer Yang.[2] Liu has been criticised for her alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party,[3][4] although she has denied knowingly associating herself with CCP affiliates.[5] She has also been critical of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' deal with the People's Republic of China on the Belt and Road Initiative.[6]

Early life and education

Growing up in Hong Kong with six siblings, she often helped her parents run the family milk bar. Gladys' family is of Chaozhou heritage which she referenced in her inaugural address to Parliament[7] after her election as MP. She studied at Belilios Public School,[8] and attended Hong Kong Polytechnic University.[9] She learnt to play the trombone and joined the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 1985 Liu immigrated to Australia to study at La Trobe University. She began her working life by waiting tables at The Flower Drum Restaurant while studying. She studied Speech Pathology and is completely deaf in her left ear. A native Cantonese speaker, she taught herself Mandarin Chinese in Australia. Following this, she worked for the Victorian Education Department for 14 years providing support to students with speech impediments. During this time, she also co-owned and operated two restaurants in Box Hill and Richmond. She has served as a government advisor for two Premiers of Victoria, served as Head of Business Development and Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor for Canaan Lawyers and President of Box Hill Chess Club. Liu has two children, who have attended Princeton and Harvard Business School.[10][11]

She became an Australian citizen in April 1992. Under Chinese nationality law where dual nationality is not recognised, she was still considered a Chinese national in Hong Kong after 1 July 1997 unless a change of nationality was declared. In 2018 she formally declared a change of nationality to the Hong Kong immigration department of her Australian citizenship to which they issued formal recognition in September 2018.[12]

Political career

Before entering Parliament, she was an advisor to former Victorian Premiers Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine. She also ran as a Liberal Party candidate for the South Eastern Metropolitan Region of the Victorian Legislative Council at the 2010 Victorian state election and for the Northern Metropolitan Region of the Victorian Legislative Council at the 2014 Victorian state election.

Views

In July 2019 Liu backed anti-government protesters in her birthplace of Hong Kong, lauding their “passion and commitment to democracy”. She told The Australian she firmly endorsed the protest movement, and its aims. “As a proud Hong Kong-born Australian, my position has been clear,” Ms Liu said. “The significant number of people in Hong Kong who have taken to the streets to voice their concerns demonstrates to the world the kind of passion and commitment to democracy that the people of Hong Kong hold.”[13]

In September 2019 it was reported that members of Liu's Liberal Party branch had called to relax foreign investment laws related to China at the 2017 Victorian Liberal Party Conference.[14][15]

In May of 2020 Liu penned an op-ed for The Age in which she supported the Coalition Government's call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. She wrote: "We cannot let something like this happen again. The communist government of China, the World Health Organisation and governments around the world need to be accountable for the decisions made during this crisis." She also stressed that Chinese-Australians ought not to be the victims of scapegoating, and noted that the Chinese-Australian community had responded early and compassionately after the outbreak, following isolation protocols and donating to hospitals and non-profit organisations.[16]

In a separate interview with The Age also published in May 2020 Liu criticised Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party for their 2018 Memorandum of Understanding with China, which nominally signed up the state as part of the Belt and Road initiative. Citing its general "lack of transparency", she told the newspaper: "Premier Andrews didn't talk to the federal government, so we didn't know about it ... The most important thing is, what are Victorians, what are Australians getting out of it? How many jobs have the projects been able to provide? What are these companies getting these projects? Have [the projects] been put up for public tender? Do they pay Australian tax? We don't know. If there is a benefit, then show us."[6]

In November 2020 Liu joined with several other Australian MPs in condemning the disqualification by China of four members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. Liu told The Sydney Morning Herald she was saddened by the move as it meant "the democracy that I enjoyed is disappearing".[17]

Controversy

In 2019, media reports linked Liu to an external influence organization called the World Trade United Foundation, which has ties to the United Front Work Department, which manages interest groups in support of the Chinese Communist Party.[18] Many of the World Trade United Foundation's members are also members of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In response to the reports, Liu claims to have left the World Trade United Foundation in 2016.[3][4] Liu was also reported to have been a member of two other front organisations from 2003 to 2015 that were both later rolled into the United Front Work Department.[19][20][21] Liu responded that she could not recall if she had been a member of the department over the 12-year period.[22]

It has also been reported that in 2018 the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had vetted certain guests at a "meet and greet" organised by Liu, and suggested that then-PM Malcolm Turnbull not attend it.[23]

In November 2019, media reports emerged that Liu had connections to an alleged Chinese spy, Nick Zhao – based on two images showing Zhao sitting next to Liu at a meeting for the Eastern Multicultural Branch of the Victorian Liberal Party on January 26, 2016 in Liu's former home.[24] Zhao claimed that he had been offered over $1 million by an unnamed Chinese businessman to infiltrate the Australian Government by running for the seat of Chisholm. Zhao reported the alleged cultivation to ASIO.[24] Liu reported that she "had no recollection" of meeting Zhao.[24]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has expressed his support for Liu and stated that criticism of the MP was racially motivated. The Morrison dubbed the attacks on Liu a "smear" campaign with a "grubby undertone". [25][26] Morrison refused to comment on whether Australian intelligence agencies have previously investigated Liu.[27]

At the 2017 Victorian Liberal Party conference, the party's Eastern Multicultural Branch, of which Liu was president, proposed a motion that would make foreign investment in agribusiness and agricultural land permissible without prior approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board.[14]

Liu was reported to have failed to declare a $39,675 AUD donation to the Victorian Liberal Party in 2015–2016.[28][22]

It was alleged by Labor Senator Penny Wong that Liu promised to write references letters for foreign students' residency applications if they volunteered on her campaign.[29]

In December 2019, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Liu assisted in securing meetings with federal politicians for the Australian subsidiary of Brighsun, a Chinese-controlled energy group. Brigshun was later implicated in a drug money laundering probe conducted by the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.[30]

In January 2021, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that ASIO was investigating a donor with ties to Liu over foreign interference risks.[31]

References

  1. ^ "The row over a trailblazing Chinese MP". BBC News. 16 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019 – via www.bbc.com.
  2. ^ Dziedzic, Stephen (21 May 2019). "Chisholm elects first female Chinese-Australian MP but historic win leaves a community divided". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b Oakes, Dan; Hui, Echo; Curnow, Sarah (14 August 2019). "Liberal MP Gladys Liu's ties to Chinese Government influence network revealed". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  4. ^ a b Oakes, Dan (14 August 2019). "Chinese-Australian Liberal MP linked to China influence network". ABC Radio. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  5. ^ Harris, Rob (10 September 2019). "Liberal MP Gladys Liu denies links to Chinese government". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. ^ a b Ilanbey, Sumeyya (31 May 2020). "'Lack of transparency': Liu calls out Andrews on Belt and Road". The Age. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  7. ^ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "First Speech: Ms Gladys Liu MP". www.aph.gov.au. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "First Speech: Ms Gladys Liu MP". 23 July 2019. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Australia) Association 15th Anniversary Booklet" (PDF). p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  10. ^ Harris, Rob (22 July 2019). "After 16 years, persistence pays off for Gladys Liu". Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019. worked at, "The Flower Drum Restaurant...completely deaf in her left ear...Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra. She sings and plays trombone...moved to Melbourne in 1985, to study...working single mother...She does not want her ethnic background to define her career as an MP. "I look a bit different. I also have an accent, but at the same time, I don't want people to see me as just a Chinese Member of Parliament," she says."
  11. ^ "Gladys Liu: Member for Chisholm: Biography". The Liberal Party of Australia. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 17 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019. "La Trobe University...speech pathologist in the Victorian Department of Education, ran her own speech pathology practice, and ran her own restaurants....adviser on multicultural matters to two Premiers of Victoria, Ted Baillieu and Denis Napthine...Head of Business Development and Corporate Social Responsibility Advisor for Canaan Lawyers...served as President of Box Hill Chess Club, where she played a role in building it into the largest chess club in Australia. two children...Princeton and Harvard Business School.
  12. ^ "Qualification Checklist" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  13. ^ Packham, Ben (30 July 2019). "MP Gladys Liu lauds protesters in Hong Kong". The Australian. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  14. ^ a b Oakes, Dan (14 September 2019). "Gladys Liu's Liberal Party branch called to relax foreign investment laws before she became federal MP". ABC News. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Gladys Liu called to relax foreign investment before she became an MP". NewsComAu. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  16. ^ Liu, Gladys (4 May 2020). "An inquiry into China's actions is right, but acts of racism must stop". The Age. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  17. ^ Bagshaw, Eryk; Massola, James. "Australia condemns sacking of Hong Kong opposition MPs". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  18. ^ Oakes, Dan (12 September 2019). "Gladys Liu did not disclose membership of Chinese Government-linked organisations before Liberal Party preselection". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Liberal MP Gladys Liu refuses to say China's actions in South China Sea unlawful". The Guardian. 10 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  20. ^ Iggulden, Tom (10 September 2019). "Questions raised about Liberal MP amid claims of links to Chinese political influence operations". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  21. ^ Iggulden, Tom (11 September 2019). "Gladys Liu says she 'cannot recall' being on China Overseas Exchange Association councils". ABC. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Hong Kong-born Australian MP 'failed to declare US$30,000 donation'". South China Morning Post. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  23. ^ Probyn, Andrew (11 September 2019). "Guests on Gladys Liu list for Malcolm Turnbull event sparked ASIO concerns". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  24. ^ a b c McKenzie, Paul Sakkal, Nick (29 November 2019). "Alleged Chinese spy target pictured sitting next to Liberal MP Gladys Liu at her home". The Age. Retrieved 1 December 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ AAP, AAP (12 September 2019). "Liberal MP cuts ties with Chinese organisations after questions raised". 9News. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  26. ^ Worthington, Brett (13 September 2019). "Scott Morrison defends Liberal Gladys Liu amid revelations about Chinese connections". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  27. ^ "Gladys Liu scandal: Australian PM condemns 'grubby smear' over China links". South China Morning Post. 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  28. ^ "Gladys Liu reportedly failed to declare $40,000 donation". Sky News Australia. 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  29. ^ Remeikis, Amy (17 September 2019). "Penny Wong scorns Liberals crying racism to defend Gladys Liu". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  30. ^ McKenzie, Nick (3 December 2019). "Gladys Liu linked to donor at centre of cash drop probe". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  31. ^ Hui, Echo; Rubinsztein-Dunlop, Sean (3 January 2021). "ASIO red-flags Liberal Party donor Huifeng 'Haha' Liu over foreign interference risks". ABC News. Retrieved 3 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Chisholm
2019–present 		Incumbent
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