Chau Chak Wing

Chau Chak-wing ( zh, s=周泽荣, t=周澤榮, p=Zhōu Zéróng, sl=Jau¹ Jaak⁶-wing⁴; born 1949), is a Chinese-Australian property developer known for his Kingold Group business based in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China (PRC). He became a naturalised citizen of Australia after emigrating there from Hong Kong. Journalists and think tanks have reported on Chau's links to Chinese Communist Party entities and interests throughout his career.

Early life

Chau was born in Guangdong Province, PRC, of Shantou heritage, but emigrated to Hong Kong in the 1970s. After further emigrating to Australia in the 1980s, he returned to live in Guangdong in 1988.

Career

In the early 1990s, Chau founded the Kingold Group. The group's main interests are property, finance, education, hospitality, healthcare and media.

In 2001, Chau joint-ventured with the Guangzhou, PRC, provincial government's ''Yangcheng Evening News'' to commence publishing the ''New Express Daily'' there.

In 2004, Chau established the pro-Beijing ''The Australian New Express Daily'' (), a simplified character Chinese-language newspaper published in Australia under the management of his daughter Winky Chow, a former ethnic policy affairs adviser to New South Wales State Premier Bob Carr. Carr presided over its official launch. The newspaper has engaged directly in promotion of pro-Chinese government in Australia.

Personal life

Net worth

Philanthropy

In May 2009, Chau, then still domiciled in Guangzhou, donated 3 million to a Chinese Public Security Bureau training centre in order that society "be well managed".

In 2010, Chau contributed 20 million, in instalments over ten years, towards the A$150 million construction cost of the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, part of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), together with an ancillary 5 million scholarship fund. In 2015, another 15 million was contributed for the construction of the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney. The Dr Chau Chak Wing Building was completed in 2013, and the museum opened in 2020.

In 2015, Chau donated 60,000 to the Australian War Memorial for the Anzac Diversity Education Program. He donated an additional 500,000 for the creation of the Kingold Education and Media Centre.

In the four years from 2014 to 2018, Chau donated approximately 4 million to the two major Australian political parties.

In November 2019, Chau donated A$500,000 to Soldier On, an Australian organization dedicated to supporting veterans and their families, and has pledged additional donations.

Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association

Chau is the Founder and Co-Patron of the Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association (ACFEA) along with Major-General Michael Jeffery (AC, CVO, MC), the former Governor-General of Australia. Based in New South Wales, the institution was founded in September 2005.

Chau Chak Wing Foundation

In 2019, Chau established the Chau Chak Wing Foundation.

Awards

Chau received an honorary doctorate from Keuka College, New York, United States.

He was awarded another honorary doctorate by UTS in 2014, shortly after completion of the UTS building bearing his name.

Controversies

FBI investigation

Chau was named in a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe in the case of bribery of the former president of the United Nations General Assembly, John Ashe. In 2013, the FBI alleged Sheri Yan, an Australian-Chinese suspected by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) of Chinese intelligence activity, used A$200,000 of Chau's money to bribe John Ashe to attend a conference held at Chau's Imperial Springs resort in China. Yan pleaded guilty to bribery charges and served a 20-month prison sentence. Chau was never charged or accused of wrongdoing. Chau has also had documented ties to the CCP's United Front Work Department since at least 2007.

Subsequent allegations

''The Daily Telegraph'' & News Life Media

In 2016, Chau brought defamation proceedings against Nationwide News Pty Ltd, the publisher of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and its sister company News Life Media Pty Ltd in the Federal Court of Australia, claiming that articles published in 2015 conveyed imputations that he himself had “bribed Mr. John Ashe”. The proceedings were settled with Nationwide and News Life agreeing to pay Chau A$65,000 and publishing an apology on December 23, 2016.

''The Sydney Morning Herald'' & Fairfax Media

In February 2019, he obtained judgment in an action against Fairfax Media in New South Wales, establishing he had been defamed in ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' in a 2015 article about the affair. Fairfax Media said it would appeal. The appeal was rejected by the Federal Court in March 2020. Chau was awarded A$280,000 in damages, which he donated to a number of charities supporting Australian veterans and their families.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation & Fairfax Media

A joint ''Four Corners'' and Fairfax Media investigation claimed that Chau, among others, was the subject of a briefing by ASIO warning of Chinese government influence over the Australian political system. In a follow-up article in ''The Australian'', Chau said that claims he was an agent of Chinese soft power were "irrational". He said successive governments since the Howard era had sought his help in promoting Australian interests in China, including being asked to lobby for Australia to win a 150 billion LNG deal with China in 2001: "In relation to Australian companies, if Australian businesses needed my assistance for development in China, I have been quietly helping them ... this has been recognised by the Australian government. I have promoted trade, Australia tourism, business and education without seeking personal gain or any favour in return. In fact it has been more a case of exercising Australian soft power in China." Chau sued for defamation over the news story. In February 2021 the Federal Court found in favour of Chau, and awarded him $590,000 in damages. The ABC was also prohibited from republishing some sections of the ''Four Corners'' episode.

Foreign election interference

In February 2022 Australian senator Kimberley Kitching used parliamentary privilege to suggest to the head of ASIO – Australia's counter-espionage agency – that Chau Chak Wing was the wealthy businessman behind an alleged Chinese plot to interfere in Australian elections to install politicians sympathetic to the Chinese Communist Party dictatorship. Chau issued a written statement saying he was “shocked and disappointed” by the “baseless and reckless” claim.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau, Chak-wing
1954 births
Living people
Australian real estate businesspeople
Australian philanthropists
Chinese emigrants to Australia
Chinese philanthropists
Chinese real estate businesspeople
Businesspeople from Guangdong
Former billionaires
Naturalised citizens of Australia
Australian billionaires