Embattled Liberal candidate for Bennelong Scott Yung under fire for alleged Beijing connections
7NEWS.com.au can reveal Liberal candidate Scott Yung addressed the opening ceremony of the 2024 Asian Business Leaders Charity Gala as a representative of federal opposition leader Peter Dutton.
The November event was co-backed by the Anhui Association of Sydney — an organisation that, according to budget documents retrieved by 7NEWS.com.au, has received thousands of dollars in Chinese government funding.
Chinese officials selected it to operate as an 'overseas Chinese liaison station' in 2016 on the principle of 'Four Emphases and Four Benefits' — including 'leveraging overseas Chinese resources to serve Anhui's 13th Five-Year Plan's international cooperation projects.'
The liaison stations were 'fully leveraging the resource advantages of overseas Chinese in talent, technology, and capital' and would 'strive to closely integrate overseas Chinese affairs with the province's economic and social development,' the director of the Anhui Provincial Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office said a month later.
Budget documents from Anhui's Foreign Affairs Office show the Anhui Association of Sydney was one of 14 overseas Chinese groups each awarded more than $6000 in a second round of 'overseas Chinese liaison station' selections.
'The total annual dedicated fund will amount to RMB 1,000,000,' the provincial government said of its program, equivalent to over $200,000.
The Anhui Association of Sydney has received Chinese Communist Party united front delegations as recently as August 2023 when the vice chairman of the Anhui Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese visited.
'United Front Work is an important magic weapon for the victory of the party's cause,' Chinese president Xi Jinping said in 2017.
7NEWS does not suggest that the Anhui Association of Sydney, its former chairman, or any other of its associates have committed foreign interference or otherwise acted illegally.
It is legal in Australia to act on behalf of a foreign government if those actions are not covert, deceptive, threatening to cause harm or demanding with menace.
The news that Yung opened the dinner backed by the association designated as an 'overseas Chinese liaison station' comes three weeks after Liberal campaign spokesperson and Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson said the prime minister had 'all sort [sic] of serious questions' to answer after The Australian reported that he dined with the vice-president of a United Front group at a Labor fundraiser.
'Xi Jinping has described United Front Work Department as China's magic weapon… Now, people might have got away with making mistakes like this five or even 10 years ago, in a more innocent or naive time, but we have learnt a lot since then,' Senator Paterson told Sky News at the time.
In 2018, the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department devoted an entire webpage to the man who formerly chaired the Anhui Association of Sydney, crediting him for his joint 'significant contributions' including to 'safeguarding China's peaceful reunification' — a reference to Beijing's territorial claim over Taiwan.
In January 2024, he was reportedly invited as an overseas delegate to the Anhui Provincial People's Political Consultative Conference — the top Chinese Communist Party advisory body to the province's party leadership.
He has also reportedly served on the overseas committee of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, which is directly overseen by the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department.
The gala night at which Yung spoke, held at the Hilton Sydney, reportedly raised $8000 for Cancer Council NSW.
'The [Opposition] Leader's office was aware of Mr Yung's participation in this Chinese community event, which brought together a large number of local business and community groups to raise funds for the Cancer Council NSW,' a spokesperson for the Liberal Party said.
'Attendance at this event had nothing to do with any policy issues, and Scott's attendance was not an expression of anything other than support for local community organisations and the fight against cancer.
'Scott supports Australia's longstanding and bipartisan one-China policy and opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo in relation to Taiwan.'
7NEWS sought comment from the Anhui Association of Sydney.
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Above: Leapmotor C10 Leapmotor launched in Australia in late 2024 with its C10 mid-size SUV, which was initially released as an electric vehicle (EV) and then joined by an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) powertrain option dubbed as REEV. To the end of July this year, Leapmotor has sold 352 examples of the C10, which is currently priced from $43,888 drive-away (C10 REEV) and $45,888 drive-away (C10 EV). It's expected to confirm a second model for its local lineup, the B10 electric SUV, which could land here by the end of 2025. In Europe, its most popular model is the Polish-made T03 electric city car – not confirmed for Australia – priced around £16,000 ($A33,450), making it one of the most affordable EVs on sale. Above: Leapmotor B10 Leapmotor is expected to reveal a small electric hatch called the B05 at the Munich motor show next month. Dutch-based Stellantis has a majority stake in Leapmotor's international operations, its first China venture. 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It delivered six per cent fewer vehicles in total, including 25 per cent fewer in the US, six per cent fewer in Europe, and six per cent fewer in the China/India/Asia Pacific region, which includes Australia. Deliveries in South America improved by 20 per cent in H1, in one of Leapmotor's few positive results so far in 2025. Above: Leapmotor T03 Among its brands, Alfa Romeo also posted strong sales in the first half of 2025, up 20 per cent, but speculation persists – despite repeated denials from Stellantis – that Maserati is up for sale, following a 32 per cent H1 decline. Stellantis' overall result was impacted by changes brought on by US import tariffs – both automotive-specific and broader tariffs on materials – which hit Maserati especially hard, given it's the brand's biggest market. Amid the headwinds, Antonio Filosa took over the company as Stellantis CEO from June 2025, after Carlos Taveras stepped down in dramatic fashion last December. MORE: Explore the Leapmotor showroom Content originally sourced from:
