On the streets of Bennelong, brutal local politics have collided with international affairs as candidates embarked on the last week of campaigning for the seat that might save or imperil Malcolm Turnbull's slender governing majority.
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At an Ultra Tune outlet in the dark bowels of the Macquarie Centre, the Liberal Party's candidate John Alexander was joined by the federal treasurer Scott Morrison and his NSW counterpart, Dominic Perrottet. The three of them peered under the hood of a tired-looking Honda hatchback and muttered to one another awkwardly about the importance of small business tax breaks before a phalanx of cameras.
At the same moment, Labor's Kristina Keneally was standing by a noisy main road in front of Meadowbank TAFE with Senator Doug Cameron where they talked to reporters about the importance of public education and Mr Alexander's alleged cowardice in refusing to debate Ms Keneally.
But the issue that dominated the day was China, and more particularly, whether or not the Liberal Party's allegations that the Chinese government is exercising undue influence over Australian politics might offend enough Chinese-Australians in the electorate to cost Mr Alexander the seat. According to the 2016 census 21 per cent of people in Bennelong have Chinese ancestry compared with 3.9 per cent nationally.
At the Ultra Tune, Mr Morrison alleged that Labor Senator Sam Dastyari, who has taken donations from a Chinese government-linked businessman, had "betrayed his country".
This betrayal, he said, would offend any Australian of any ethnic heritage.
Back at the TAFE, Ms Keneally was having none of that. She said the Chinese-Australians and Korean-Australians she had spoken with were becoming alarmed by the Coalition's rhetoric.
"They see it as China-phobia," she said. "They see it as scaremongering. They see the suggestion from the Prime Minister that people from Chinese or Asian backgrounds are somehow suspicious and they don't like it."
How the argument is playing out among voters is so far not clear, though influential Chinese-Australian media - and media in China - are covering the dispute and the byelection.
The People's Daily, Chinese state-controlled media, published an opinion piece on Monday decrying the debate over Chinese government influence in Australia as racist and urged the Australian government and media on Monday to "discard their political biases and prejudices".
But so far local Chinese media in Sydney - some of which have close links to the Chinese government - have largely avoided taking sides on the issue.
The Liberal Party Chinese Council gathered around Mr Turnbull and Mr Alexander two weeks ago for a press conference in which the Prime Minister stressed that "Australia and China are very, very good friends and partners".
Chinese media appear less familiar with Ms Keneally, with local outlets struggling to agree on how to transcribe her name.
At his cafe at Eastwood Plaza, a local business that has been visited over the years by politicians (including John Howard, Maxine McKew, Penny Wong and Kevin Rudd), Jung Kim, who has Korean heritage, says the allegations will have no impact on his vote, but what he sees as links between the Liberal Party and One Nation might.
In the past he has voted for both Labor's Ms McKew, who famously stole the seat from Mr Howard, and Mr Alexander.
Hugh Lee, the president of Eastwood Chinese Senior Citizens, a group with around 1300 members and significant political influence, says he endorses candidates rather than parties.
He threw his weight behind Ms McKew in 2007 because he believed Mr Howard had failed to challenge One Nation, but this year he is endorsing Mr Alexander, who he says has been a good local member.
Besides, he says, now that One Nation's focus appears to be on Muslim immigrants rather than those from Asia, his members are less concerned about its impact.