Billionaire's ban seen as pushback against Chinese foreign influence ops

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Australia's decision to ban a well-connected Chinese businessman for his political activity is being seen as a potential watershed moment, the start of pushback against Beijing's long-running operations to buy influence overseas.

In less than a decade, Huang Xiangmo went from a new arrival in Australia to hosting swanky waterside parties with political elites, to finally being kicked out of the country and declared persona non grata -- as a result of his alleged links to China's Communist Party.

The 49-year-old Guangdong native is currently believed to be in Hong Kong, after the same officials he long courted and bankrolled revoked his residency, denied him citizenship and prevented him from returning to his multi-million-dollar Sydney mansion.

Experts say his case -- which has prompted a furore in Australia over foreign donations to political parties -- is a signal that Canberra is ready to curb China's ambitious operations to influence foreign political elites.

"It's a very significant thing," said Michael Shoebridge, former deputy director of Australia's defence and signals intelligence agencies, pointing to Huang's links to the Chinese Communist Party.

While the 2016 US presidential election shone a fierce spotlight on Russian intelligence agencies' "active measures" to influence and subvert events abroad, less focus has fallen on China's operations in the same area.

According to Shoebridge, these are often led by the United Front Work Department, an agency of the Communist Party, and offshoot groups set up around the globe, like the Australian Council for the Promotion of the Peaceful Reunification of China.

While the United Front Work Department operates in China with close ties to party leaders, the reunification councils have been established in countries from New Zealand to the United States.

The lack of a formal link between the groups abroad and the Chinese state allows "deniability", according to Shoebridge.

"But they certainly implement the policy directions of the Chinese state."
"It will allow the Australian government to find out how Beijing will respond."
"Australian pol