Sunny Duong, accused of having links to Beijing, vows to fight foreign interference charge

A Chinese-Australian community figure charged with a foreign interference offence has vowed to fight the charge and issued a spirited defence of his reputation, saying he has “nothing to hide”.

Di Sanh Duong, who uses the name Sunny, told Guardian Australia he has been accused of working on behalf of the Chinese Communist party – allegations he rejects.

“I’m a very popular person, I hold a lot of positions and I have nothing to hide. I will fight them in court,” he said.

“I’ve been here 42 years … I didn’t [ever] live in China.”

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Duong appeared before the Melbourne magistrates court on Thursday charged with preparing for a foreign interference offence. It was the first time someone has been charged with the offence since new national security laws were passed in 2018.

The 65-year-old is on bail and spoke to Guardian Australia from his Surrey Hills home in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Duong would not answer questions about the specifics of the charge, which came after a year-long investigation undertaken by the counter foreign interference taskforce led by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in collaboration with the Australian federal police.

The AFP said in a statement that the charge related to a relationship with a foreign intelligence agency, and that action had been taken at an early stage to disrupt the alleged foreign interference, but did not release further detail.

Duong, who also uses the name Yang Yisheng, will appear in court again in March.

He is the owner of Stone Construction Australia, which specialises in manufacturing memorials at sites in Sunshine North and Clayton South. His wife also works at the business, and the couple have a young son.

Duong had previously been a long-time employee of Nelson Bros funeral services, specialising in working with families from a Chinese or Vietnamese background.

But he is also well-known for ties to the Liberal party, which he ran for in the then-state seat of Richmond in 1996. He is reportedly still a member of the party.

In his role as president of the Oceania Federation of Chinese Organisations from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, he appeared with Alan Tudge, the acting minister for immigration and multicultural affairs, at Royal Melbourne hospital to donate $37,000 in June.

Duong said in a statement at the time: “Most members of the Indo-China ethnic Chinese community have settled in Australia for over 40 years. We consider Australia our home and wish to do our part when Australia is in need.”

Duong also claimed the association had raised almost $200,000 for bushfire relief.

In 2014, Duong travelled to Taiwan representing the association and met senior government officials, according to photos from the meeting which were posted online.

He was also invited to attend the China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun in 2017, but it is unclear if he made the journey.

Earlier this year, he was one of a select group of community members invited to speak to the Chinese consul general in Melbourne via Zoom.

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Under Duong’s leadership, the association has also signed petitions and protested in relation to conflicts involving the South China Sea and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands dispute, taking positions which aligned with the CCP.

He is also a director of the Museum of Chinese Australian History, the vice-president of the Victorian Chinese Memorial Foundation, which funds memorials for Chinese migrants who died during the gold rush, and an honorary adviser of the Springvale Asian Business Association.

The association’s president, Daniel Cheng, said he had known Duong for more than a decade.

The association regularly attracts local, state and federal politicians to its events, but Cheng said he had seen no indication Duong used these occasions to improperly build relationships with these guests.

He also denied that Duong was a significant financial contributor to the association, but said he would regularly buy tickets or occasionally donate $50 to $100.