Author: Fan Yang, Deakin University The 2019 Australian federal election was the first time that Australian politicians interacted with Mandarin speakers on the Chinese social media platform WeChat. The two major party leaders at the time — Scott Morrison of the Liberal-National Party (LNP) and Bill Shorten of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) — joined WeChat Official Accounts (WOAs) to give public announcements and conduct online video meetings as part of their election campaigns. Concerns were raised about the possibility of Beijing’s influence in swinging the opinion of Chinese-speaking voters towards the party that maintained more moderate policies toward China.…
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