Why Australia's opposition is vying for votes on Chinese social media

Chinese Australians are a crucial group that deserted the conservative Liberal-National coalition in the last election.

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And they are trying to reach them on platforms that their party once talked of banning over national security concerns: Chinese social media apps like WeChat and RedNote.

Nearly six in 10 Chinese Australians use WeChat at least once a day, according to a poll by Lowy Institute in 2022.

Grange Chung, who is contesting the New South Wales' seat of Reid, held by the left-leaning Labor party with a 3.2% margin, said in a video on WeChat that he chose to start his career in the navy "to give back to the country that embraced my family when we arrived with very little".

"Australia gave us a home... Let me finish what I started," he said in a video montage that included scenes of him putting up campaign posters and interacting with the electorate.