Australian State Corruption Body to Probe Labor’s Ties to Chinese Community

Australian State Corruption Body to Probe Labor’s Ties to Chinese Community
An Australian flag is seen outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 9, 2013. Feng Li/Getty Images
|Updated:

SYDNEY—Australia’s most populous state will investigate if a Chinese friendship division of the country’s main opposition party broke rules on political donations, at a time of deepening concern over Chinese influence in Australia.

The anti-corruption watchdog of New South Wales said in a statement on July 31 it will hold a public inquiry into whether the state Labor Party’s “Chinese Friends of Labor” group or other officials sought to circumvent rules on disclosing political donations.