In September, Pauline Hanson, the leader of the Australia’s far-right One Nation party, claimed the country was at risk of being “swamped by the Chinese.”
And now the woman believed to be One Nation’s first Asian candidate, Shan Ju Lin, has leaped to her defense, Australia’s ABC News reports.
“Good Asians” will vote for One Nation in the Queensland state elections — which are scheduled for 2018 — ABC quoted her as saying on Tuesday. And the reason? They too should fear the growing influence of China.
On Hanson’s assertion that Asian people form ghettos and do not assimilate, Lin said that “for European people, it’s very difficult to distinguish Chinese or Korean or Japanese, and I can understand why she said it.”
Lin, who was born in Taiwan, alleges that the Chinese government is already influencing the Labor and Liberal parties — the two mainstays of Australian politics — and that an influx of Chinese government supporters will make things worse.
“The Chinese government is a great threat to Australia because they bought a lot of businesses and our harbors and properties,” Lin said. “They will take over power of Australia. They will form their own government.”
[ABC News]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Donald Trump Is TIME's 2024 Person of the Year
- Why We Chose Trump as Person of the Year
- Is Intermittent Fasting Good or Bad for You?
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- The 20 Best Christmas TV Episodes
- Column: If Optimism Feels Ridiculous Now, Try Hope
- The Future of Climate Action Is Trade Policy
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Write to Joseph Hincks at joseph.hincks@time.com