One Nation’s first Asian candidate defends Pauline Hanson

Kristian Silva
Dec 21, 2016, updated Dec 21, 2016

Ms Lin was running in Bundamba in the 2018 Queensland election. Photo: Supplied.

A woman believed to be One Nation’s first Asian candidate is not offended by Pauline Hanson’s infamous remark 20 years ago that the country was at risk of “being swamped by Asians”.

Shan Ju Lin said she believed she and the party would get the votes of “good Asians” in the Queensland election, slated for 2018, as they too feared the rising influence of the Chinese Government in Australia.

She understood why Ms Hanson made those comments, which included claims that Asians “form ghettos and do not assimilate”.

Pauline Hanson’s 1996 maiden speech

“For European people it’s very difficult to distinguish Chinese or Korean or Japanese, and I can understand why she said it,” Ms Lin said.

“She sees the problem ahead of everybody, including you and me. Everything she said is happening now.”

Ms Lin, a school teacher who moved from Taiwan to Australia 26 years ago, said the Chinese government, namely the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), was exerting too much influence on Australia.

It was already influencing the Labor and Liberal parties, she said, adding there would be serious consequences if huge numbers of its supporters moved to Australia.

“I feel the Chinese Communist Party is a great threat to Australia because they bought a lot of businesses and our harbours and properties,” she said.

“They will take over power of Australia.

“Would you like 20 million people to move to Australia? Would you like to see that happen?”

Political tensions between China and neighbouring Taiwan stretch back more than 60 years, and Ms Lin said she had disliked the CCP since birth.

“There are two groups of Asians … the good Asians will be like me.” Photo: Supplied.

The CCP is also cracking down on Falun Gong, a Chinese meditation and spiritual movement that Ms Lin has participated in.

Ms Lin said she believed CCP supporters were behind an incident in the Brisbane suburb of Sunnybank in 2010, when projectiles were reportedly fired at anti-CCP newspaper the Epoch Times while she was inside with staff.

‘Good Asians’ will back One Nation: Lin

In 2018, Ms Lin will run in the Queensland state election seat of Bundamba — not far from Pauline Hanson’s old Ipswich stomping ground, west of Brisbane.

She has ties to the area because of multicultural festivals she organised through the World Harmony Society.

Ms Lin is set to come up against former Labor police minister Jo-Ann Miller, a candidate who enjoyed a huge swing at the last election but has been dogged by political scandals since 2015.

While the Bundamba electorate is an overwhelmingly Anglo-Saxon, Ms Lin said she believed Brisbane’s Asian community would support her bid to win a seat for One Nation.

There are two groups of Asians … The good Asians will be like me.

“The other group will be supporting CCP, and those people who support CCP are selfish people.”

LNP, Labor, KAP, now One Nation

For the One Nation challenger, this election tilt could be a case of fourth time lucky.

Ms Lin said the Liberal National Party and Labor had previously approached her to run in other elections, but withdrew their support because of her involvement with the Epoch Times and views about the CCP.

In in the Queensland seat of Moreton for Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) in the 2016 federal election, but secured less than 2 per cent of the vote.

However, Ms Lin claimed the campaign was doomed from the start because she received little backing from KAP headquarters and did not even meet party leader Bob Katter.

Having spoken to Ms Hanson in person, Ms Lin said things were different this time.

“I believe she supports me,” Ms Lin said.

She said she believed she was One Nation’s first Asian candidate.

While Queensland campaign manager Jim Savage could not recall any others, he said the party had not kept records of the ethnic backgrounds of its past candidates.