With the rest of the election, Australian opposition candidates have been attracting a key group that rejected the conservative Liberal National Alliance: Chinese Australian voters in the last election.

They are trying to contact them on platforms their parties have talked about banning national security issues: Chinese social media apps such as WeChat and Rednote.

A 2022 poll by the Lowy Institute showed that at least one in six Australians use WeChat every day.

Grange Chung, who is competing with Reid in New South Wales, has a profit margin of 3.2 per cent, said in a video about WeChat that he chose to start his career in the Navy "to give back to the country where we hardly reached my family".

"Australia gave us a home ... let me do everything I started," he said in a video montage, saying he posted campaign posters and interacted with voters.

Although only 5.5% of Australia's population, Chinese Australians are said to be crucial to Labor's victory in 2022, which has won nearly a decade of rule by the Liberal National Union.

Traditionally, Chinese Australians tend to be conservative, but in several seats with a large Australian population, the liberals have three times larger swings than the rest.

Some analysts say the community rejected the coalition because they believe their government was unable to handle racist attacks well during the pandemic, while others point to anti-China rhetoric by then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

And now, according to the polls, candidates for liberals have strengthened their battle to vote in marginal seats, many of which are largely Chinese-Australians.

To get a chance to win Reed, Grange Chung knew he needed to win the suburbs of Burwood, often known as Sydney’s second Chinatown, conversations dominated by Mandarin and Cantonese, and signs for shops and restaurants.

Chung, a former commercial pilot, started posting on WeChat in February, has shared his interview with Asian business owners, Lunar New Yearkings, and his commitment to the community, where about one in five voters are racially Chinese. An article saw him citing grandson's philosophy.

He is far from the only liberal candidate targeting the platform, and University of Melbourne researcher Yang found that more than 220 authorized freelance ads have been found on WeChat since January, with the workforce of about 35.

Reid resident Henry Luo said he observed “broad goals” of Chinese Australian voters in the sport, including candidates showing advertising banners on popular WeChat accounts and working with famous Chinese celebrities or Chinese influencers.

Mr Luo said: "I think it's an effective platform to reach the Chinese community. We discussed and debated a lot of political issues about WeChat."

Even non-ethnic Chinese politicians have established existence on the platform, sharing videos of themselves enjoying Chinese food and festivals.

Liberal Congressman Keith Wolohan's channel has his clips, who celebrates the Tornado Festival with his children and enjoys spicy Hun food with his father. Wolohan defended his fringe seat in Menzies, Victoria.

But there is no guarantee that visibility into Chinese applications will translate into votes, said Qiuping Pan, a lecturer in Chinese studies at the University of Melbourne.

Chinese Australian voters have become more "political mature", she said, adding that many may consider voting for independent candidates, Some people think they can better advocate for local communities because they don’t drag parties.

"Based on the last election, they knew their votes were important and had an impact. When they were portrayed negatively, they knew they could fight back."

Some people are frustrated that the community is “just for voting.”

"When Chinese and Australians want to participate in a deeper political sense, sometimes we are seen as suspicious characters," said Sydney resident Erin Chew.

She noted how liberal senator Jane Hume recently accused Asian volunteer Monique Ryan of being a "Chinese spy."

“This narrative has been normalized by politicians and the media, which is why Australia’s political environment is so problematic,” she said.

These are exactly what candidates want to solve on social media channels.

Nearly one-third of people are of Chinese origin in the location of Bennalon, New South Wales. Liberal contender Scott Yung's post is covered with Mandarin subtitles and audio translations.

According to government data, this may help him attract more voters: Lower English - about 25% to 26% - among Australians, Australians who speak Mandarin or Cantonese at home.

In 2022, Labour won only the second time in more than 70 years. Now, it occupies Bennalon by a razor.

A recent clip shows Yung running an education business highlighting what he calls the “so important” relationship between China and Australia: “It’s important for Australia, it’s important for Australian businesses.”

Osmond Liu, a researcher at the Victorian-based think tank per capita, said how the country’s relationship with China has an impact on the lives of Chinese and Australians.

“Concerns in (community) will include increased racism, the impact on people doing business with China and the meaning of family significance to China,” he said.

For some voters, liberals’ blitzkrieg on social media is out of sync with their anti-immigrant rhetoric. "(Leader of the Alliance) Peter Dutton talked about cutting immigration and international students. We are very anxious about it," said Alex Wang, who works at Reid's restaurant.