NSW Labor leader Michael Daley’s “young Asians with PhDs taking our jobs” blunder cost him dearly in the recent NSW state election. His defeat also offered a taste of the crucial role the Chinese social networking platform WeChat could play in the forthcoming federal election.
After Daley’s comments were publicised, Liberal candidate and Chinese-Australian Scott Yung reportedly published articles on WeChat accusing Daley of being a “racist”. Yung says this helped him secure an 8.4% swing in the primary vote in the seat of Kogarah held by Labor candidate Chris Minns.
It’s likely WeChat also played a role played a role in Labor’s disastrous loss in the 2016 federal election, when the Liberal Party successfully harnessed the platform in the key marginal seat of Chisholm in Victoria.
Focusing more attention on the platform is a smart strategy for politicians. The 2016 Census counted approximately 1.2 million people of Chinese ancestry in Australia. Around 510,000 of these voters were born in China, and 597,000 speak Mandarin in the home. A large majority of these Mandarin speakers prefer WeChat as their social media platform.
