Case Against Self-Confessed ‘Extreme’ CCP Supporter Highlights Split in NZ’s Chinese Diaspora
Udumbara
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Accusing a now-former Auckland City councillor of being unfit to hold public office and subject to foreign influence has cost a man who admits his views are “extreme” $225,000 (US$130,000) in damages.
The case has highlighted the level of tension between pro- and anti-Beijing members of the Chinese diaspora in New Zealand.
The High Court awarded the sum as general and aggravated damages against Morgan Xiao for WeChat (a Chinese social media platform) posts he made about Councillor Paul Young between 2021 and 2023. Xiao sometimes posts under the name “Demon King.”
Justice Tracey Walker described his posts about the former councillor as “a campaign of vilification bearing no hallmarks of a responsible communication,” rejecting Xiao’s defences of truth or communicating responsibly in the public interest.
In addition, she said Xiao must not “repeat the disloyalty, dishonesty, lack of fitness for public office, corruption and foreign influence imputations and misuse of court proceedings imputations about Mr. Young.”
A key issue in the case was Young’s assertion that Xiao’s posts falsely portrayed him as a supporter of Taiwanese independence. Young was born in Taiwan.
Walker described this as “an issue of deep political sensitivity among the Chinese community.”
Young’s lawyer describing the allegation as “reputationally lethal.”
“But they also go further,” Walker wrote in her judgment. “They variously accuse Mr. Young of being unworthy, corrupt, dishonest, and disloyal.”
Xiao’s defence centred on the assertion that describing someone as a supporter of Taiwan’s independence was not defamatory, and that Young was trying to restrict his freedom to make political comments, as granted under New Zealand’s Bill of Rights Act.
Xiao styles himself as “an opinionated online commentator” whose views are vehemently in support of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its policies. He conceded to the court that some of his other views could be characterised as “extreme.”
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History of Silencing Chinese Pro-Democracy Supporters
Xiao’s vocal support for the CCP has gained him some prominence in New Zealand, even outside the Chinese community.Xiao, he said, constantly ran a “very public campaign to intimidate and silence Chinese pro-democracy figures.”
“In my work for the Free Speech Union, I’ve had the honour of meeting with the brave individuals Mr. Xiao has targeted and seen first-hand in our district court his bully tactics in action. [He] pursues a relentless online campaign against anyone in NZ who questions the CCP’s growing influence,” Hanne said.
“The more I’ve learned about this case, the more I’ve come to realise ... that the issue of foreign interference from China is far more serious than I first thought,” he said, noting that pro-democracy Chinese dissidents have been facing “increasing levels of intimidation, blackmail, and even violence from the CCP’s United Front.”
Xiao lost an earlier case this year, in which he tried to have a Chinese-NZ journalist, Portia Mao, remove statements about him and apologise.
He initially won such an order in a hearing held without notice to Mao under the Harmful Digital Communications Act. But when the substantive case was heard by District Court Judge Richard McIlraith in June, the order was overturned.
Pro-CCP Campaigner Used Intimidating Notices With Police Logo
However, that is not the end of defending her work in the courts for Mao, who is now being sued by a known associate of Xiao’s, Frank Qiang Fu.Fu was not charged.
According to Mao, Fu has been harassing her online and encouraging others to do the same since mid-2024, when she was involved in the production of a documentary that investigated the CCP’s influence in New Zealand.
“Mr. Fu declared himself my ’moral enemy,‘ and in another comment, he said, ’Tear off your mask, you can’t fake it anymore! I’m not pretending either; I’m a staunch defender of China,'” Mao says.
It named China, Russia, and Iran as being “willing to engage in covert or deceptive activity in order to influence discussions and decisions, or gain access to technology and information.”
Transnational repression is practised in NZ by several states which “falsely believe they have the authority to extend their influence to their diaspora communities. They expect their diaspora should remain politically loyal even when they reside in another country,” the report said.
Targets are usually members of certain religions, such as the Falun Gong community; some ethnicities, including Tibetans and Uyghurs; and pro-democracy movements.
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