Chinese working holidaymakers question being 'deceived' by Australia
"He told me that I was going to see a different world...... Being able to meet friends from all over the world. Nathan Que recalls that this was the description his friend gave him after a working holiday in Australia in 2016.
This made him look forward to experiencing exotic places and embracing diverse cultures.
In 2015, under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, 5,000 Australian working holiday visas will be available to Chinese nationals each year.
The agreement aims to "increase demand for tourism services and support the development of tourism in Australia". Que and the others have been eagerly waiting for the opportunity to come.
But now, the dreams of tens of thousands of young Chinese who are preparing to travel to Australia for a working holiday have suffered a serious setback.
They questioned being "deceived" by the Australian government, and anger boiled over Chinese social media.
According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs website, when a country's working holiday visa quota approaches the cap, the country's citizens' applications will be "suspended".
There are currently five countries on the list marked as "suspended": Brazil, China, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey.
But China alone is far from running out of 5,000 places a year.
So far this fiscal year, only 406 Chinese applicants have been granted working holiday visas, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
As for the reason for being "targeted", Que and others were confused. "There are several countries on the list, but only the processing of Chinese applicants has been stopped. I don't know why, and there hasn't been any announcement or communication. "
Lily Lee, who is also in China, has always wanted to experience working and holidaying in Australia.
As early as last year, she received a message from the Ministry of the Interior that she would be "included in the next round of random selection" and that her registration would be valid until April 30 this year.
"Even in the last few days, people were expecting a miracle," Li said, but the long-awaited "random selection" never really started until the registration expired.
Li and millions of other young Chinese took to the official social media accounts to ask the Australian embassy for confirmation, questioning "you are liars".
"A direct response is the way to solve a problem."
In fact, in late June, the Australian government further touted its tourism industry with a $125 million "Come and Say G'day" campaign that was broadcast millions of times on Chinese social media.
In reality, however, the chances of Chinese nationals obtaining working holiday visas are dwindling.
Que thought she would be able to "make friends from all over the world", but it turned out that it was uncertain whether the next batch of applicants would be approved.
Australia's approach is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the vision of Chinese citizens eager to experience Australian cultural life and contribute to Australia's tourism industry.
The Ministry of the Interior has not yet provided an explanation for this.