Former Minister Testifies: Worked With Businessman While Unaware of Alleged CCP Ties

Former Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said he expected positive media coverage when he facilitated a donation to a hospital from a businessman who has been accused of attempting to use the money to advance objectives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Vietnam-born Di Sanh Duong, 67, also known as Sunny Duong, is facing a Victoria County Court trial after Australian Federal Police (AFP) alleged he was preparing for an act of foreign interference by trying to influence Mr. Tudge, a Liberal frontbencher in the Morrison government. Mr. Duong has pleaded not guilty. According to the prosecutor, Mr. Duong, a former Liberal party member, was the president of the Oceania Federation of Chinese Organisations from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. He also held a senior role in the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification, which is affiliated with the CCP’s overseas influence arm, the United Front Work Department....