The 2021 census showed that there were approximately 1.39 million Chinese residents in Australia, of which about 536,000 were born in mainland China.

With the rapid growth of this group, first-generation Australian Chinese are becoming an important political force.

In the last election, many Chinese Australians turned to the Labor Party and blamed Morrison's government for the rapid deterioration of Sino-Australian relations.

Labor wins!

Since then, the Albanese Labor government has been committed to "stabilizing" Sino-Australian relations.

Most Australian Chinese believe that the Labor Party handles Sino-Australian relations better than the Liberal Party.

About 70% of respondents said they would consider voting for a party friendly to the Australian Chinese community,

and 72% of respondents said they would consider voting for a party with a moderate attitude toward China.

This newly released poll shows that in the two-party preferred vote, Labor leads the Coalition by 53 to 47.

Albanese remains the most popular prime ministerial candidate, far ahead of Dutton.

However, last Christmas, the two were evenly matched.

As the federal election approaches on Saturday, the Chinese vote will be crucial for Australia's future.

Chinese voters may directly influence the outcome of the election!

The Chinese community has become the main battlefield.

In the past two weeks, the two major parties have become increasingly active in Chinese social media platforms, leading to a surge in political advertisements on popular Chinese applications such as WeChat and Xiaohongshu.

Activities by various parties and independent candidates have noticeably increased.

Because the Coalition suffered a crushing defeat in last year's election, but this time Dutton is far behind.

The Liberals are particularly active in their campaign activities on Chinese social media platforms, with members of the Liberal Party releasing significantly more political advertisements.

Now more than 220 Liberal Party ads have been found on WeChat, while the Labor Party only has about 30 ads.

Many of these are attacks on the Labor government.

The Liberal Party now wants to rebuild its relationship with the Chinese community.

An internal review by the Liberal Party found that some loss of Chinese voters was due to the unfriendly remarks made by the Morrison government towards China.

Therefore, it must accelerate and strengthen its relationship with the Chinese community.

Chinese voters will play a key role in determining the outcome of the federal election on May 3rd.

The Liberals are now somewhat anxious, and are conveying the importance of the upcoming choice on May 3rd through various community channels to the public.

Australian political figures eating at Chinese restaurants, drinking bubble tea, and shopping at Asian supermarkets clearly aim to get closer to the Chinese community.

Liberal candidate Grange Chung is actively engaging on Chinese social media platforms in his challenge to Sally Chen's seat, even including QR codes for WeChat and Xiaohongshu on his campaign posters.

Many candidates are also using these platforms to share videos of themselves eating Sichuan hotpot and drinking bubble tea.

Some communities with the highest proportion of Chinese voters are also the most fiercely contested areas.

Since January of this year, Liberal candidate Scott Yung has appeared in over 100 authorized ads.

Meanwhile, the Bradfield electorate in Sydney, which ranks fifth nationally in terms of Chinese voter numbers, has been flooded with WeChat ads from candidates of both major parties and independent candidates.

This is blatant flattery of Australian Chinese.

Both parties have invested a great deal of time, money, and effort to win over these Chinese voters, including face-to-face contact and targeted promotions on social media to cater to Chinese media audiences.

Labour Party

During Albanese's first term as Prime Minister, Sino-Australian relations have been a key focus of diplomacy.

The government he leads has successfully initiated dialogue with China, making significant progress in Sino-Australian relations.

Albanese has publicly stated:

"I have always openly opposed the far-right forces in Australia and consistently supported and promoted Australia's multiculturalism."

We have an incredible society — we must cherish and protect it.

A new survey indicates that the Labour Party is likely to continue receiving support from many Australian Chinese voters.

In the ongoing survey, nearly two-thirds (64%) of 3,000 respondents said they would vote for the Labour Party in the upcoming federal election, compared to only 27% supporting the Liberal Party.

Recently, Albanese appeared at a Chinese school in Melbourne and had a warm exchange with the students, earning the children's "hello" and "thank you".

When

Albanese walked into the classroom, the children all greeted him in Chinese: "Hello, Prime Minister!"

Outside the classroom, excited parents raised their phones to take photos of their children with the Prime Minister.

Albanese promised that if the Labour Party is re-elected on May 3rd,

he will invest 25 million Australian dollars to support 600 community schools.

In addition, the Labour Party plans to allocate 5 million Australian dollars to promote Asian language learning, aiming to help students of all backgrounds improve their language skills.

Albanese said at the event:

"These young Australians, we need to invest in them because investing in them is investing in our future."

Dutton

Dutton has long been known for his tough stance on the Chinese.

He criticized Prime Minister Albanese's "weak" response to the appearance of a Chinese research vessel off Australia's coast.

This week, when Dutton was asked during an interview with Channel 7 which country poses the greatest threat to Australia's security,

he bluntly said China.

The Coalition lost the Chisholm electorate in 2022, partly due to Dutton's hostile comments about China,

including his statement in 2022 that Australia should prepare for war.

Although Dutton and the Liberal Party are lagging behind,

many things could change between now and May 3rd.

Whether the Liberal Party can maintain its slight advantage among Australian Chinese voters may depend on Dutton's stance on China. They will undoubtedly pay close attention to his remarks.

Dutton, who has not been friendly to the Chinese, is now trying to court them.

Dutton publicly called the Chinese "an indispensable and important part of Australia".

He stated that he "supports China" and hopes to see trade between the two countries double.

He once said he "supports China and our relationship with China".

Recently, Dutton spoke at a federal election press conference held in Brisbane. The opposition is working hard to win over Chinese voters.

Dutton has abandoned his hardline rhetoric in an attempt to win back Australian Chinese voters.

Dutton visited a Cantonese dim sum restaurant in Glen Waverley, Melbourne, where he had lunch with local Chinese community leaders.

Dutton wants to create an image of being approachable and friendly to the Chinese.

It is unclear whether Dutton's efforts to win over the Chinese community come too late.

So, who do you think will win on Saturday's election?

Vote for Labour, type 1.

Vote for Dutton, type 2!

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7499592810979541514/

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