Australian politics have been extremely disappointing in how it has discussed the issue of China and its influence. The rhetoric coming out of The Australian Government has been one which is racist and considered as “China bashing”. What is more destructive is the racism which has and will come out of it.
According to a recent Lowy Institute report:
- 1 in 3 Chinese Australians said they experienced racism due to their cultural heritage;
- 1 in 4 Chinese Australians have been called offensive names;
- 1 in 5 have been physically threatened or attacked;
The first survey from the Lowy Institute was released in 2021 and surveyed 1,000 Chinese Australians. Here is more from SBS News:
The second edition of the report — titled Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese Communities —was released earlier this month, with a slight drop in the number of people reporting racism.
In the 2021 report, 37 per cent of the survey respondents said they were “treated differently or less favourably”, while in the 2022 report that figure went down to 34 per cent.
In saying all this, one positive I guess coming out of this entire situation is that Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John has spoken to The Australian recently and stated that China does not pose a threat to Australia.
Here is some of what he said (via news.com.au):
“I don’t see China as a military threat to Australia,”
“Solomon Islands is a sovereign country that is seeking to build relationships with its regional neighbours as best it can and it is making those decisions as a sovereign country should,”
“We absolutely support the right of Solomon Islands to do that. The Greens see it as a double standard that is both paternalistic and actually racist. It is a racist, paternalistic double standard that needs to be called out.”
What do you all think? Do you feel this constant China bashing is pushing out more racism in Australia?