Jane Hume may rue doubling down on her ‘Chinese spies’ swipe

Despite the Liberal Party’s resounding defeat at the recent election, Senator Jane Hume’s allegation on Sunrise that some Chinese-Australian volunteers for Labor’s election campaign “might be Chinese spies” continues to sting. Of the top 10 moments that seem to push Chinese Australians to reject the Liberals, it rivals even the party’s preference deal with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation for top place.

Hume’s comments were triggered by reports in The Sydney Morning Herald that the Hubei Association — with alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party — had organised campaigners for independent MP Monique Ryan and Labor MP Clare O’Neil, before the latter rejected the arrangement. The AEC’s Integrity Assurance Taskforce is still investigating the issue.

Further adding fuel to the simmering fire was an Age update last week, with the senator doubling down on her remarks. Hume didn’t even try the relatively standard “It’s not appropriate to discuss this while an investigation is ongoing” tactic. Nor did she try to defuse the tension by paying lip service to Chinese Australians by celebrating — as Peter Dutton had — Australia’s “amazing” and “incredible” Chinese-Australian community.

Instead, she said:

Let’s be clear what the issue there was — there was a suspicion by the Australian electoral integrity taskforce of foreign interference in our electoral system.

Hume then went further and attacked Labor for weaponising her remark:

It wasn’t something that they could so easily dismiss, and instead they turned it into a scare campaign against Liberals.

There is indeed an AEC investigation ongoing. But regardless of the outcome, Hume’s remarks were careless and inconsiderate. Instead of speaking to the specific issue at hand, she capitalised on the incident to fear-monger and tar all Chinese Australians with the same brush. Even The Australian’s Greg Sheridan said Hume “made a bad mistake”.

In response to Hume’s latest comments, NSW Labor MP and member for Strathfield Jason Li put forward a motion to the NSW Parliament, which, among other things, condemned Hume for a “baseless and offensive suggestion that Chinese-Australian volunteers on pre-poll may be ‘spies’”, “recognises the vital role that the Australian-Chinese community and other multicultural communities play in our democracy”, and “affirms that no Australian should face suspicion or vilification for taking part in civic life because of their cultural background”.

Hume’s recalcitrance has not gone unnoticed by many Chinese Australians. Some have said that Hume was merely saying out loud what some Liberal politicians could be saying behind closed doors. Some observe that Hume’s comments triggered memories of Liberal Senator Eric Abetz, who, a few years ago, interrogated Chinese Australians and demanded their loyalty — an episode which, according to one WeChat commentator, is still “sending chills down my spine”.

Resonating strongly with the sentiments of members of many WeChat groups, a Melbourne-based Chinese-Australian father of two — who wished to remain anonymous — took to AI to create two political cartoons, one dedicated to Hume and the other to Eric Abetz:

Henry Luo, secretary of the Reid Business Community, started a petition on change.org in the hope of repairing the damage done by Hume’s remarks. Speaking to Crikey, he said:

The damage is already happening. People are feeling alienated and afraid to be involved. We must act now to stop the spread of racial suspicion in politics and reaffirm the rights of all Australians to participate equally. This petition is a chance to speak up, reject racial profiling, and call for accountability in how national security language is used in public debate. We urge for an apology from Senator Hume and reaffirm the inclusive values that Australia claims to stand for.

Luo’s sentiment is echoed by Jimmy Li, president of the Victorian chapter of the Chinese Community Council of Australia.

Li told Crikey that “thousands of Chinese Australians have expressed their uneasiness and anger” at Senator Hume’s comments. He believes that such remarks not only hurt those who volunteer their time, but also contribute to the ongoing marginalisation of Chinese-Australian communities. Li also asks:

How long will it take for some politicians to see Chinese Australians — who have been part of Australia’s nation-building story for over 200 years— as ‘us’ rather than ‘them’?

Li’s organisation published an open letter that seeks a public apology from Senator Hume, believing this would be a step towards reaffirming that every Australian citizen — regardless of cultural background — has the right to participate in our democracy without fear of suspicion or exclusion.

Meanwhile, there has been nothing from Hume’s Liberal colleagues. Former Liberal MP for Chisolm Gladys Liu demanded a “heartfelt apology” from Hume, but the Liberal Party itself has remained silent. Will its new leader, Sussan Ley, say anything? Or will new deputy leader Ted O’Brien — once referred to as “the Coalition’s secret weapon to win back Chinese voters”, and who prides himself on having extensive experience in China and Taiwan and speaking Mandarin — make any comment?

While refusing to recant her remarks, Hume acknowledged the incident hurt her party’s prospects. In a somewhat sensationalist fashion, an Age article summed up the damage by observing:

The Coalition spent three years trying to regain the trust of Chinese-Australian voters in crucial seats in Sydney and Melbourne. But everything fell apart in a matter of minutes.

If Hume’s preelection remark remains unaddressed, it is likely to become a festering wound for the Liberals. Come next election, its ghost may resurface to haunt her colleagues when they find themselves out and about in electorates such as Menzies, Bennelong and Chisholm saying, “Kung Hei Fat Choi” (Happy New Year in Cantonese), taking selfies with Chinese-looking people, posing for the camera eating dumplings in Chinese restaurants, or parachuting in more Chinese-Australian candidates to run in marginal seats.

Will Senator Hume say sorry? Will she realise that, while she herself won’t have to face an election for quite a few years, she has a responsibility not to further jeopardise the political careers of Liberal colleagues such as Keith Wolahan, who is widely considered by Chinese-Australian voters in his constituency to be the right MP for the wrong party?

If she doesn’t, and if the Liberals maintain their silence on the matter, it will likely provide further ammunition to their political opponents, be they Labor or independents.