Drew Pavlou

Drew Pavlou (born 4 June 1999) is an Australian political activist best known for his criticism of the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party, and their influence within Australia. Pavlou is also known for organising protests on-campus in support of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, and for later protest activity against the Chinese government.

In May 2020, he was suspended for two years from the University of Queensland (UQ), which alleged 11 instances of misconduct. The action drew national attention in Australia, including from former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. An appeal of his case by the UQ Senate Disciplinary Appeals Committee upheld two of the initial charges and reduced his suspension to one semester. Pavlou returned to UQ in early 2021.

In December 2021, Pavlou launched the Drew Pavlou Democratic Alliance federal political party. He ran for the Australian Senate in the 2022 Australian federal election, alongside five other candidates, but was unsuccessful. The party was voluntarily deregistered in November 2023.

Early life and education
Pavlou was born on 4 June 1999. Pavlou's family, who are Greek Cypriots from the Larnaca District of Cyprus, migrated to Australia in the 1960s to open a number of hospitality and retail shops on the Gold Coast in Queensland. At two years old, Pavlou's family moved to Brisbane, where he later completed high school at Villanova College. Growing up, Pavlou was bullied in school for his heritage, being called slurs such as wog. He was then admitted to the University of Queensland where he was studying for a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Philosophy before his suspension. His grandmother's brother was a fighter with Greek nationalist guerrilla organisation EOKA, and was killed during the Cyprus Emergency.

2019 Hong Kong protests in UQ
In July 2019, during the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, Pavlou organised a protest at the University of Queensland in support of the Hong Kong democracy movement. He has alleged that he was assaulted twice during clashes with counter-protestors who were supporting the Chinese Government. The counter-protesters were in the hundreds and had shouted pro-Beijing slogans and played China's national anthem over loudspeakers. Covering the incident, the LA Times wrote: "Things quickly turned violent. A man in the crowd rushed at Pavlou, snatching his megaphone. A second man shoved him. In the ensuing scuffles, one student from Hong Kong was tackled and grabbed by the throat; another had her shirt ripped open." Brisbane-based Chinese Consular-General and adjunct professor at UQ, Xu Jie, responded to the protests by condoning counter-protestors for "self-motivated patriotic behaviour" and condemning the protest as "anti-China separatist activities". Pavlou responded by alleging Xu Jie was inciting violence and issuing a death threat, a claim which was rejected by the Chinese embassy in Canberra. The Magistrates Court rejected the application for a case before it was heard at trial, citing international diplomatic immunity laws.

Suspension from the University of Queensland
Throughout April and May 2020, Pavlou was summoned to the University of Queensland disciplinary board after a 186-page report suggested he violated university student discipline policies 11 times, and was suspended for 2 years. Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd criticised Chancellor Peter Varghese's handling of the suspension, claiming the university was overly conciliatory to Beijing.

Allegations by the university included bullying, discrimination, and harassment of students and staff, both online and on-campus. ABC News has reported that complaints raised to the board include Pavlou improperly claiming to make statements on behalf of the university and a Facebook post of Pavlou posing in front of the UQ Confucius Institute in a biohazard suit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pavlou admitted to directing profanity at students on Facebook and another university forum after UQ claimed complaints were raised by a number of students. On 5 May, Pavlou walked out of a disciplinary board hearing, labelling the hearing as a "Stalinist show trial". Pavlou's legal team claimed that they were denied access to confidential university documents that may demonstrate UQ collusion with the Chinese government. A spokesperson for the university stated that the matter did not concern political freedom of speech but misbehaviour, that university policy is developed independently of politics, and that the university was unable to comment directly on the matters of the hearing.

On 29 May, the board handed down its decision to suspend Pavlou for two years, the remainder of Pavlou's tenure as UQ senator. UQ Chancellor Peter Varghese expressed concern on the UQ News website about "the findings and the severity of the penalty", convening an out-of-session meeting of the UQ Senate to discuss the matter.

On 2 June, Pavlou sought a review from the UQ Senate Disciplinary Appeals Committee (SDAC), the appellate body for disciplinary matters formed from the UQ Senate, and student and staff representatives. On 13 July, SDAC issued its findings, concluding that two counts of serious misconduct were justified, however dismissing other charges. As a result, SDAC reduced the suspension from two years to one semester (roughly six months). In a statement released by the Committee and Chancellor Varghese, they explained that "neither of the findings of serious misconduct concerned Mr Pavlou's personal or political views about China or Hong Kong", and that Pavlou is now ineligible to return as a UQ senator, under the University of Queensland Act.

In September 2020, the Queensland Crime and Corruption Commission declined a request by Pavlou to investigate Chancellor Peter Varghese and former Vice-Chancellor Peter Høj, citing "insufficient evidence to suggest anyone who was subject of the complaint had engaged in corrupt conduct". The university responded in a press statement that it was pleased by the findings, and that it had been advised by the commission that no action will be taken.

Pavlou returned to university in early 2021.

Court case against the University of Queensland
On 11 June 2020, Pavlou launched a case against the University of Queensland, Chancellor Varghese, and former Vice-Chancellor Høj, seeking damages of A$3.5 million for an alleged breach of contract and defamation. The case was lodged with the Supreme Court of Queensland. In a response to an ABC News inquiry, a UQ spokesperson said, "when we receive a formal notice of claim we will consider it and respond through the appropriate channels." Pavlou announced the case on Twitter, saying he was "seeking damages for breach of contract, negligence, defamation, deceit and conspiracy" and that the case was "not about money".

Eastwood protest
In April 2022, after returning from Ukraine where he had been volunteering delivering humanitarian aid, and while running for Australian Senate, Pavlou held a sign protesting against President of China Xi Jinping, near a shopping center at the predominantly Asian suburb of Eastwood in New South Wales. The sign read "Fuck Xi Jinping" in Chinese, and resulted in bystanders confronting Pavlou, and eventual police intervention. During a court trial in 2023 related to the incident, Pavlou was charged with offensive behavior in public, and refusing to comply with a police direction, with police claiming that his sign read "Xi Jinping, fuck your mother". The public offence charges were dropped at the court trial after the translator at the trial stated that Pavlou's sign carried a general curse against Xi.

2022 Wimbledon Peng Shuai Protest
On 10 July 2022, Pavlou was thrown out of the 2022 Wimbledon men's singles final for interrupting the match to shout "where is Peng Shuai" in reference to the Chinese tennis player who disappeared after accusing retired Vice Premier of China Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. Pavlou claimed that security staff pushed him over a row of seats and down a flight of stairs where he hit his head on a wall while twisting his arms behind his back. Wimbledon officials denied Pavlou's claims that excessive force had been used against him. An All England Club spokesman stated, "a spectator was removed from Centre Court after disrupting play by shouting, running down the stairs and causing a nuisance to their fellow spectators. The individual was removed by security colleagues and escorted off the grounds"; while Pavlou stated, "I'm sorry that I disrupted the match for 30 seconds, I tried to pick a break in between games to silently hold up my #WhereIsPengShuai sign but security immediately crash tackled me which is why I shouted out so people would hear Peng Shuai's name on the broadcast."

Protest in London
On 22 July 2022, Pavlou was arrested by the Metropolitan Police outside the Chinese Embassy in London, while protesting alleged human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese state, by displaying the flags of Tibet, Taiwan, and Uyghurs.

Pavlou said that he was detained for 23 hours incommunicado without access to lawyers, for an alleged bomb threat. He claimed that during his detainment, he had been treated poorly and had been handcuffed in a stress position; he added that he was forced to sign a document, giving up his right to legal representation and that he was forced to do an interview at 4a.m. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that they "will raise Mr. Pavlou's claim that he was denied consular access before being released with UK authorities." Alan Crockford, spokesman for the Metropolitan Police denied allegations of poor treatment during Pavlou's detainment, and asserted that the department abides to "strict codes of practice under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act" for detainees. British journalist and Liberal Democrat candidate Edward Lucas filed a corruption complaint with Metropolitan Police regarding Pavlou's alleged mistreatment and an investigation is underway. Some human rights activists and politicians, also claimed of receiving emails from accounts that were pretending to be Pavlou. Pavlou claimed he was subjected to an "orchestrated campaign".

Protest in Brisbane
In May 2023, Pavlou received two fines totalling $1,000 after a protest he conducted against the Chinese consulate in Brisbane in May 2022. Pavlou had held a handwritten sign in Queen Street Mall reading "Nothing happened on June 4, 1989, change my mind" in reference to the Tiananmen Square massacre, with this form of protest being modelled on an internet meme. He refused to pack up the protest when a Brisbane City Council officer directed that he needed to do so. The fines were given for the sign and for the refusal. Pavlou unsuccessfully challenged the fines in two appeals, with the total amount he owed to the court increasing in May 2024 to $10,000 – including the original fine, Brisbane City Council legal fees, and court costs – after his second appeal. None of Pavlou's convictions were recorded, allowing him to further pursue a legal career.

Suspected target of a foreign interference operation
In June 2024, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Pavlou said he had been contacted by three Australian Federal Police officers in August 2023, who told him that he was a suspected target of a foreign interference operation. Pavlou said that the AFP told him that it had uncovered attempts by foreign agents to find where he lived, and instructed him to keep the investigation confidential. He said that search warrants had been issued and searches conducted, but no arrests had been made. Pavlou said that, if the case went to trial, he might have to serve as a crown witness in a foreign interference trial. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Pavlou believed the suspected agents of foreign interference wanted his address for "a nefarious purpose". Pavlou said he disregarded the police's instructions to remain confidential, and spoke publicly about the investigation because he was frustrated by the absence of any arrests or charges laid, after waiting ten months since he was informed of the probe.

Political career
In December 2021, Pavlou launched the Drew Pavlou Democratic Alliance federal political party. He announced his intention to run for the Senate in Queensland, alongside five other candidates in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland. The party's policies include fighting corruption, protecting human rights (with an eye specifically on alleged issues related to the Chinese Communist Party), tackling poverty and homelessness, and building a green economy.

The party contested the 2022 Australian federal election, with Pavlou running for the Australian Senate in his home state of Queensland. Pavlou campaigned against Liberal MP Gladys Liu. The Drew Pavlou Democratic Alliance received 2,215 first preference votes for the House of Representatives nationally and 4,555 first preference votes for the Senate (representing 0.15% of total votes cast) in Queensland, and did not win any seats.

The party was voluntarily deregistered in November 2023.

On 14 December 2021, Pavlou released a recording of a telephone call between him and a representative of Bishopp Outdoor Advertising, which owns more than 700 billboards across Queensland. Pavlou states that billboard companies are unwilling to run ads in Australia critical of China.