In 1994, Fairfield wanted a sister city. Ngo advocated a city from Taiwan, which was endorsed by councilors Lalich and Anwar Khoshaba; Newman, in line with official party policy, pushed for a city in China. A Taiwan relationship was against Australian Federal government policy, as Taiwan was not diplomatically recognised as a nation. According to former Cabramatta detective Tim Priest, Ngo had received a $117,000 cheque from Jin-Gou Chang of the Taipei Cultural Office in 1994. Newman learned of the transaction and accused Ngo, Lalich and Khoshaba of accepting funding from the Taiwanese government and stated that they should not be re-elected to the council, a position for which he received considerable support. The Hsinchu City sister city relationship was accepted despite only 100 Cabramatta citizens having Taiwanese ancestry. On 1 June, the Labor State Electoral Council condemned Ngo and Lalich, stating that if they continued to breach Labor policy regarding China, they would both be expelled. Ngo was furious and began openly approaching people who were not criminals for advice on acquiring guns and hiring a hitman.