What’s essentially a footnote to the 2025 election, but a significant one in the context of the Liberal Party’s treatment of its Chinese-Australian supporters, is that of Bradfield independent candidate Andy Yin, a 28-year-old of Chinese heritage born and raised in Sydney’s inner west. A one-time party member he only turned independent after the party turned on him.
After being controversially dumped by a preselection panel, Andy Yin, a one-time Liberal Party member abandoned the conservatives in 2023.
Shunned from the party, in last week’s federal election, he ran as an independent in Bradfield, on Sydney’s north shore. The electorate has a high proportion of Chinese-Australians and one, prior to the election, the Liberals held with a margin of just 2.5 percent
At the time of writing the election result in Bradfield is undecided. Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian is around two-hundred votes ahead of Teal independent Nicolette Boele. It is quite possible that the vote will be headed for a re-count.
Though he only picked up 4.2 percent of the primary vote, Yin preferenced Boele ahead of the Liberals and that may have an effect on the final outcome.
Banned by the Liberals
The state branch of the party had given no explanation as to the reasons behind his rejection as candidate for Strathfield at the 2023 NSW state election. However, he believes it was suspicion surrounding unsupported allegations of involvement with groups alleged to have links with the Chinese Communist Party; and questions as to the provenance of funds used to buy a property when he was 19 years of age.
Ironically, ousted opposition leader, Peter Dutton—a Queensland police officer from a middle-class family—was able to buy the first of his reported $30 million property portfolio at the same age.
The final result of the 2023 NSW election saw a statewide swing to Labor of 3.7 percent on first preferences, in Strathfield the swing to Labor member Jason Yat-Sen Li was 7.1 percent. The seat has moved from marginal into the safe Labor column, with Yat-Sen Li now sitting on a comfortable margin of 13 percent.
Where Liberals once relied on rhetoric that they are the better economic managers to garner Chinese-Australian votes, in Strathfield which has the bustling inner west Chinatown of Burwood at its heart, it appears the party’s rhetoric of suspicion of Chinese-Australians resonated more with the community.
A migrant success story
Yin’s parents, who migrated from Jiangsu, China in the late 1990s, worked hard to make a life in Australia. They set up a taxi base in Sydney’s inner western suburb of Five Dock, a 24-hour seven days a week business, later establishing a number of small businesses including the now very successful Phoenix Chinese Restaurant Group.
What many would consider a great migrant success story was treated with suspicion by those who oversaw the nomination of a loyal Liberal party member.
Whether or not the Liberal Party’s rejection of his nomination was based on hard evidence, it’s almost comical that the Australian-born son of the owners of a Chinese restaurant is treated with suspicion.
Against this backdrop, prior to nominating, he had made a considerable number of generous donations to the Liberal Party. One of his 2025 campaign volunteers, who did not want to be identified, commented, “Why does the Liberal Party ask where he got money for his business and didn’t ask where he got the money he donated them?”
Eventually he took the matter of his rejection by the Liberal’s nomination committee to the Human Rights Commission, which accepted his complaint. In it he wrote: “I was told by many persons close to the respondents that my candidature was rejected because I have been accused, variously, of being a ‘Chinese spy’ and/or a candidate of Chinese heritage was not to the benefit of the party in Strathfield.” The complaint will go to mediation in June of this year.
Now wrong but once supported by the right
In 2022 he set up a YouTube channel called “Andy One on One” a podcast of him interviewing Liberal Party figures mainly from the right faction. Among them were, shadow federal treasurer, Angus Taylor; Warren Mundine the Ferrari-driving indigenous leader and anti-Voice campaigner, who failed in a bid to get Liberal preselection for the seat Bradfield; deeply anti-Chinese retired Tasmanian senator Eric Abetz; and former prime minister Tony Abbott. His two videos with Abbott garnered more than 67,000 views.
Most of those he interviewed are China sceptics and have either made highly disparaging comments about the loyalties of Chinese-Australians or closely align themselves with other conservative figures and commentators who have.
Yet such is his loyalty to some party figures, he even included a picture of himself posing with Abbott in his campaign flyers.
In a turnaround from his past allegiance, a week out from the election he posted a video on, Chinese social media app, WeChat linking the Liberals to the past anti-Asian position of, One National leader, Pauline Hanson; and criticising Dutton for doing a preference deal with her party.
Accompanying the video, he wrote, “Today I publicly stated my position. This federal election is very important, and we must absolutely not let Peter Dutton, a representative of the Liberal Party who is anti-China succeed in becoming prime minister.”
Of concern to the Liberal Party should be the fact that video was shared over 5,000 times and gained a total of 150,000 views. Among more than 400 comments there were some who questioned his loyalties, but overwhelmingly they were deeply critical of Dutton and the Liberals.
One viewer commented, “I can’t forget [former prime minister] Morrison and Dutton’s fear for us… who would want to go back to the time when we had to be vigilant and nervous every time we stepped out on the street.”
Another wrote, “It’s hard to choose this year, I’ve always been a Liberal, but I really don’t like Peter Dutton.” Given the outcome of the national vote, this is not a uniquely Chinese point of view, it’s a view shared by millions of Australians.
While Yin failed to make a dent in his bid for election to the federal parliament, it’s likely he did make a dent in the views of the Chinese-Australian community and the growing suspicion it has for the way in which it continues to be treated by the Liberal Party.
