"Our Chinese community sector is law-abiding, and share with mainstream Australians all its way of life and its values. But as we cross the bridge into a new geopolitical landscape, we are experiencing a swamp of 'popular nationalism' and eerie echoes of 'community scapegoating' by popular national media, a number of elected representatives in Parliament and mainstream community leaders who are garnishing public comment that negate and target the fabric of our community." After holding community meetings in the past fortnight in Sydney and Melbourne, with members of diverse origin including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, the council lodged a late submission to the inquiry. Mr Liu is a third-generation Chinese Australian, who lives in the Blue Mountains and was the Greens candidate for Lindsay at the 2016 federal election. Kingsley Liu He went to university in Australia and Taiwan, is a former stockbroker, and co-founded a law firm with former NSW attorney general Jeff Shaw.

Mr Liu told Fairfax Media he was pleased the timetable for the review of the bill had been extended. "I am hoping the government will be equally generous with its consultation with stakeholders and particularly our community," he said. He said the notion that China was influencing migrants to countries such as Australia was "really old". "I think the influence is the other way. The longer Chinese-Australians are in this country, the influence of the Australian way of life becomes embedded and entrenched," he said. Loading International students should be welcomed to Australia because he would "hate to see" that two-way influence damaged, he said.

The council's submission said China was the "obvious elephant in the room" for the proposed legislation. The Chinese Australian community included many valuable groups of "go-betweens" across commercial, academic, media, community and "nation building", and these people would be at greatest risk of a bureaucratic error that might bring stiff penalties under the bill, the council's submission said. Among those affected could be staff of organisations who are "bridging the understanding and who are adept at shedding light on the pros and cons of the interplay of Australian, Chinese and US policies"; and cultural and business exchange groups who publish comments on foreign relations. The Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia wrote to the inquiry last week recommending the legislation be rejected because of its "disproportionate" impact on ethnic communities. The wording in the bill was so broad that an individual informing a foreign friend they were going to write a letter to a newspaper about a political issue may be required to register as a foreign agent, FECCA said. The Federation of Chinese Associations (Victoria) in another late submission wrote that it delivered social services including migrant settlement schemes, and its members were active volunteers in local government programs. Association president Junxi Su, a former candidate for deputy lord mayor of Melbourne, said the bill appeared to be "targeting us" as Chinese, and will create "unnecessary loss of trust and confidence between the peoples of our two countries".

The foreign influence inquiry has also received submissions from Falun Gong and its newspaper, Epoch Times, complaining of Chinese government interference in Australia and requesting migrants from communist countries be made to study democratic values. The Australian Values Alliance, whose spokesman John Hugh previously accused the Chinese consulate of bullying him because of his friendship with Falun Gong, also supported the legislation.