Jing Lee

The Honourable Jing Lee MLC
Member of the South Australian Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 March 2010
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council
In office 19 April 2022 – 10 January 2025
Personal details
Born	(1967-07-12) 12 July 1967 (age 57) Malaysia
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Independent (since 2025)
Other political affiliations	Liberal (until 2025)
Occupation	Politician

Jing Shyuan Lee (born 12 June 1967) is a Malaysian-Australian politician elected to the South Australian Legislative Council for the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia since the 2010 state election.[1] She quit the Liberal Party on 10 January 2025. She was formerly the president of the Asia Pacific Business Council for Women.[2]

Early life

After completing primary school in 1979, Lee emigrated from Malaysia to South Australia. During her first years in Australia, she joined an English language program and entered into the public school system. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of South Australia where she studied business management.[3]

Political career

Lee ran as the fourth candidate on the Liberal ticket in the South Australian Legislative Council at the 2010 state election. She was elected to the Legislative Council on the back of a 39.4 percent Liberal primary vote.

Since entering Parliament, Lee has taken the role of deputy whip of the opposition in the Legislative Council. She is a member of the Social Development parliamentary community. In December 2011, she was promoted to Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business by Isobel Redmond.

In August 2020, Lee's connections to the Xinjiang Association of South Australia, an organisation that has denied the existence of a Uyghur genocide and works closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, were reported.[4][5]^[need quotation to verify] Following the reports, photos of Lee at the association events were removed from her social media accounts and some federal MPs in her party called for an investigation into Lee's reported links to the Chinese government on national security grounds.[6][7][8]

In September 2020, Lee was selected by the Liberal Party as its preferred candidate to become president of the South Australian Legislative Council, where the party did not have a majority. Fellow Liberal John Dawkins also nominated for the role and was elected by the council, and consequently expelled from the Liberal Party.[9]

On 10 January 2025, Lee resigned from the South Australian Liberal Party.[10]

References

1. "Hon Jing Lee". Members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
2. "2010 Advisory Committe Members". Asia Pacific Business Council for Women. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
3. Hansard, 11 May 2010
4. Penberthy, David (28 August 2020). "Uighur outrage at Liberal MP Jing Lee's links with Beijing propaganda arm". The Australian. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2020. The Xinjiang Association has no office, no telephone number and holds many of its functions in conjunction with the consulate
5. Smith, Matt (28 August 2020). "Liberal MP Jing Lee defends connection with Chinese Government-backed Xinjiang Association of SA". The Advertiser. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
6. Penberthy, David (29 August 2020). "SA Liberal MP Jing Lee wipes photos over alleged Beijing links". The Weekend Australian. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
7. Penberthy, David (4 September 2020). "Federal liberal MPs push for investigation into South Australian MP Jing Lee over alleged China links". The Australian. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
8. Smith, Matt (3 September 2020). "Federal Liberal MPs push for investigation into SA Upper House president nominee Jing Lee's links to China". The Advertiser. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
9. "'White-hot anger' sees John Dawkins expelled from SA Liberal Party after taking presidency". ABC News. 9 September 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
10. Mason, Olivia (11 January 2025). "Jing Lee announces immediate resignation from SA Liberal party to become Independent MLC". ABC News. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 14 January 2025.

External links

• Official website
• "Hon Jing Lee". Members of the Parliament of South Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2025.