Huang Xiangmo, a prominent Chinese political donor suspected of making campaign contributions to further the Chinese Communist Party’s agenda in Australia, has been stripped of his permanent residency in the country. On top of that, Mr. Huang’s application for Australian citizenship has also been denied by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection on “character grounds.” Officials accused Mr. Huang of making false claims during his interviews and had deep concerns about the “reliability” of the information that he provided.
Under Australian immigration laws, Mr. Huang will have 28 days to ask the Department of Home Affairs to restore his visa. Alternatively, he could request the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of his case within nine days of receiving his visa cancellation notice. Mr. Huang’s son and wife currently resides in the Sydney mansion purchased by Mr. Huang in 2012 for $12.8 million.
Mr. Huang migrated to Australia in 2011 after building his real estate empire through launching the Yuhu Group in Guangdong, China in the early 2000s. The billionaire has cultivated close ties with Beijing and associated himself with various organizations connected to the United Front Work Department, a division of the Chinese government that seeks to assert Beijing’s influence by working with the overseas Chinese community.
In 2015, Mr. Huang published an article on the Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times, which provided advice for Chinese immigrants seeking to gain influence in representative democracies.
“In a democratic society, politics is based on strength, from hard power such as votes (population) and banknotes (financial power), as well as soft power including language and political operations,” he wrote in the piece posted on the council’s website.
“Enhancing political enthusiasm and increasing participation in politics has always been the long-cherished wish of the Chinese community, and it is the only way to unite the strength of the Chinese community, enhance the status of the Chinese, promote Australia-China relations, participate in the formation of Australian public policies, and serve the country and society.”