In recent years, the Australian government has long been proud to act as a "pawn" of the United States and has played the role of an "anti-China vanguard" in the international community. However, in the face of the continued tension in China-Australia relations, the Australian authorities not only did not reflect on their own actions, but began to question the "loyalty" of Chinese in Australia.
Earlier in March, the Australian government commissioned a think tank to conduct one of the largest polls of Chinese-Australians in history. Some Chinese-Australian scholars said that there were a number of pre-set positions in the survey, such as "your views on Western democracy" and "your views on the Chinese government/Chinese Communist Party", which caused concerns among Chinese americans. Some scholars said that this was tantamount to asking Chinese in Australia "do you stop beating your wife".
Some local Chinese said they feared the investigation was to confirm that the Chinese were "disloyal to Australia" and would lead to more racial attacks. Some Chinese also said that this shows that the Australian government regards Chinese as a "whole" and does not "subdivide" Chinese in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and mainland China.
Screenshot of the South China Morning Post website report
Earlier this month, the Australian government commissioned an independent think tank, the Lowy Institute, an independent think tank, to conduct a poll of Chinese Australians, but the survey sparked discussions and concerns among Chinese Australians, according to the South China Morning Post website reported on March 14.
The Lowy Institute said the survey, which surveyed 1,040 immigrants who identified themselves as Chinese in Australia, was the largest survey of Chinese in history. The survey also polled 3,000 non-Chinese Australians to compare their views with those of Chinese Australians, though it did not give racial classifications of respondents. The institute also did not break down the background of Ethnic Chinese in its survey.
For the survey, the Australian Home Office said the findings would be used to "analyse the sentiments of key ethnic groups in Australia in order to develop effective public policies that promote social cohesion". An Australian Home Office spokesperson said: "This analysis of the sentiments of key populations in Australia supports the promotion of social cohesion and thus policy development. The views, information or recommendations expressed in this report are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Lowy Institute or the Australian Government. ”
However, for the issue of the survey, the Australian Chinese community has expressed no small concern. Melbourne media research scholar Yu Haiqing noted that on social media, the local Chinese community repeatedly discussed on social media why "the Australian government chose us to conduct this survey".
Professor Yu said that the reason for the concern in this survey was because many of the issues had "preset positions". Professor Yu cited a question in the survey that asked respondents to choose the option that most closely resembled their personal opinion from three statements. The three options are "democracy is preferable to any other type of government"; "In some cases, a non-democratic government may be preferable" and "It doesn't matter what kind of government we have for someone like me". Respondents can also refuse to answer or say they don't know which one to choose.
According to the results of the survey released by the Lowy Institute, the proportion of Chinese who identify with "Western-style democracy" is even lower. 31% of respondents believe that "democratic institutions are superior to other institutions" and 41% chose "in some cases, non-democratic governments may be preferable". By contrast, 71 per cent of other ethnic Australians believe that "democracy is better".
The survey results show that the proportion of Chinese who identify with "Western-style democracy" is lower Source: Lowy Institute
Professor Yu said that the question emphasized a presupposition that "Western democracy is good, other types of political models must be bad". It's like being asked a preconceived question like "Have you stopped hitting your wife?" ”
"As a result, it's hard for people to make choices, she said... This leaves no room for ambiguity, with some supporting Western democracy while recognizing that China is doing better in some cases, such as controlling the outbreak. ”
Professor Yu also pointed out that the survey also asked whether Chinese people use WeChat to obtain English and Chinese news. 64% said they often or sometimes used WeChat to get News in English, and 84% said they often or sometimes used WeChat to get News in Chinese. In this regard, Professor Yu said that this question does not break down the types of news that respondents read, and the relevant survey shows that many people use WeChat or Weibo to read entertainment or social news, rather than political news or diversified perspective news.
In addition to academics, the survey has also worried other Ethnic Chinese groups. Some Chinese are concerned that the investigation is to confirm that the Chinese in Australia are a group of "loyal to the Chinese government, not loyal to Australia".
Kingsley Liu, chair of the Australian Chinese Community Council, said the survey described those of Chinese descent as "loyal to China, rejecting democracy and not having 'true blue' values", suggesting they were not really Australians. He said: "Mainstream Australia thinks we are all newcomers. I couldn't even hear a Chinese accent, but my expatriates and I were still screaming silently at the report. ”
Chinese Australians take photos with their mobile phones during the Spring Festival Source: Social media
Liu said the survey scared him because it would sway Australia's new policies towards Ethnic Chinese. Australia recently passed a new security measure that has cost more than $1.8 million, which includes allowing the Australian Federal Police to conduct surveillance and surprise inspections of citizens with business with China, as well as the registration of foreign agents.
Some Ethnic Chinese said this shows that the Australian government regards Ethnic Chinese as a "whole" and does not "subdivide" Ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and mainland China.
Jason Lee, chairman of the Australian Chinese Forum, a nonpartisan community group that aims to raise political awareness among Chinese Australians, said that while the survey was critical to understanding the Chinese community in Australia, Roy's survey grouped the entire Chinese community into a "whole" and did not break it down.
Hu Dan, a professor at the University of Foreign Chinese in Beijing, also believes that the survey has "homogenized" the Chinese in Australia, saying: "They (Chinese Australians) are a diverse organization and the investigation should not focus on the People's Republic of China." ”
Nor is this the first time Australian authorities have questioned the "loyalty" of Chinese americans in Australia. At a Senatorial Committee hearing last October, Senator Eric Abetz of the Liberal Party of Australia repeatedly "tortured" three Ethnic Chinese and demanded that they "unconditionally condemn" China, a move seen by opposition politicians as "demanding loyalty from Ethnic Chinese to Australia.".
The conversation, which then went viral on WeChat and other social media, infuriated the Chinese-Australian community: many said the issue was unquestionably racist because "whites never needed to swear allegiance like this," and others pointed out that the way of forcing others to "condemn other governments" was no different from "McCarthyism."
More Chinese are just worried that the investigation will further spark racial discrimination and racial attacks.
Just the week the investigation was announced, Huang Kun, a local Chinese-American lawmaker in Sydney, received a letter insulting his Chinese name, accusing him of being responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic and property price increases in Australia. The letter also issued death threats against him and "all Chinese."
The Lowy Institute survey shows that in the past year, nearly one-fifth of Chinese have been physically threatened or attacked because of their ancestry, one-third of Chinese have been given racist and discriminatory titles, and more than one-third of Chinese have been treated unfairly.
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