The rise and fall of Shan Ju Lin and her 5 minutes of shame

By Erin Chew

Well that was short lived. Shan Ju Lin has been dumped in less than a month since she announced she was running as a candidate for One Nation in 2018. Her rise and fall must have broken some world records, and it should come as a relief that she is no longer afforded any publicity. However the circumstances as to how she was dumped needs to be questioned with regards to the underlying reasons as well as how she was dumped.

From day 1, Lin was not exactly secretive in expressing her views and it was clear from the start how completely problematic her drivel was. Lin was not only racist (contradictory, considering she is Asian herself), but she was also islamaphobic and homophobic. But it wasn’t the racism which got her dumped. In actual fact that racist drivel was what kept her in and attracted all the media attention she needed to spout more hate. It was also the best opportunity for Hanson and One Nation to capitalise on the “Asian” vote. Recruiting and nominating Lin was One Nation’s way of communicating that all Asian Australians need to forget all the anti-Asian remarks Hanson made back in 1996, and to support One Nation because there is one Asian Australian flying its flag. Being a party of bigots, there would be no cultural understanding and so their tactic to win over the Asian vote would be as simple as that. And sadly, Lin was a pawn in this game and used by One Nation in the most divisive way. Her by line “good Asians will like me and Pauline Hanson”, captivated the headlines and demonstrated her ignorance in understanding the intersectionality of race relations in Australia.

Interestingly, Lin’s ultimate downfall as stated earlier was not her blatant racism but was actually her big hateful mouth spouting homophobic comments on her Facebook page. In early January she posted an article on a rape trial involving two gay men with the description:

“Abnormal sex behaviour leads to abnormal crime. Gays should be treated as patients, they need to receive treatments.”

Her comments didn’t go down too well with One Nation’s Executive and her candidacy was ultimately suspended. At the time this all happened Lin was overseas in Taiwan and One Nation officials sent her a message via Facebook. However, questions arise as to why a racist political party such as One Nation is pro LGBTIQ? A party which causes divisions within Australian society supports another discriminated minority? Well the answer is pretty simple as the chief of staff to Hanson, James Ashby is a gay man, so to discriminate against the LGBTIQ community has become more of a personal attack on Ashby. You wonder though, if Ashby was not a gay man, whether Lin’s candidacy would be suspended? Was the fact that she came from an Asian background a factor in her dumping, because stereotypes dictate that Asians are an easy target in Western society? And would she have faced the same fate had she been of anglo Australian background? The answer to this is pretty simple: No! One Nation chose the easy way out and dumped Lin because it conflicted with the personal feelings of a One Nation heavy weight and their organic racial prejudice pushed their ultimate decision, whether we like it or not. This also shows the ignorance on Lin’s part in not truly understanding that she would never be accepted as an equal within One Nation. The colour of her skin will always trump how far she would rise within the party and at the end of the day she was used and abused by those she thought supported her. In saying that, her downfall has been a blessing in disguise, because another year and a bit of her drivel would not benefit the sanity of Australia, and she would cause further tensions within the Asian Australian community. But it reminds all of us Australians that One Nation is not a party for all, but only a party for some.

This experience also has hopefully taught Lin that her level of understanding of politics and her understanding of race relations in Australia is basically zero. She has run her short lived campaign based on geo politics and blurred the lines with what it means to be anti-government and what it means to being a racist. Remember, she has no party loyalties considering she has previously run as a candidate for the Bob Katter Party. Her ambition to become a politician was such a burning desire that she gave up the last semblance of dignity in her racial identity and her politics. This ultimately was her failing and this was what led to her downfall. Let’s hope this is the last time Lin’s name will be heard on the mainstream.

 

Erin Chew is Convener of the Asian Australian Alliance, and Asian Australian Alliance Women’s Forum.