As geopolitical flashpoints go, it was about as small and unassuming as they get.
Key points:
- China is warning citizens about the risk of racism if they travel to Australia
- Australian officials have dismissed this as "disinformation"
- Some Asian-Australians say the dispute makes it harder to speak out about racism
A group of Adelaide residents — mostly mums, dads and international students communicating through the Chinese social media platform WeChat — wanted to organise a protest against something they were hearing a lot about in their own circles: racism and discrimination.
It's an issue that has anecdotally seen something of a rise during the coronavirus pandemic. When the ABC put a call out for people to share their stories of either witnessing or experiencing a racist incident, it received hundreds of responses.
It's a problem that has not gone unnoticed by Beijing, which has in recent weeks put travel warnings in place advising its citizens that they are at increased risk of racism in Australia.
Some political observers, and some students themselves, say these travel advisories have little to do with the actual level of racist behaviour in Australia, and more to do with the continuing deterioration of ties between Canberra and Beijing.
Australian officials have played down the problem, saying allegations the country was unsafe because of a "significant increase" in racist incidents were Chinese "disinformation".
But with racism becoming a new pressure point in China and Australia's tense relations, it's ordinary people who are getting squeezed.
How can they talk about the racism and discrimination they are facing, without being accused of being a Chinese Communist Party shill?
'It's getting so complicated'
Hundreds of people gathered in Adelaide on Saturday and Sunday to protest after a violent attack on a food delivery driver near the city's Chinatown district in early July.
Police charged a 21-year-old South Brighton man with assault over the incident last week. The ABC is not aware of any evidence suggesting the attack was racially motivated.
But the protest was also about the broader issue of a perceived increase in racist abuse against Asian people in Australia, driven in part by the coronavirus pandemic.
Kexin, a computer science student at the University of Adelaide, said she attended the protest to show support for the man who was attacked.
Protest organiser Say Kapsis, a young mum and psychology student at the University of Adelaide who is originally from Singapore, said she initially created a donation group on WeChat aiming to help hospitals with medical supplies, but as the pandemic gave rise to racist incidents, the focus of the group shifted.
The attack on the delivery man, along with other recent incidents against members of the Asian community, gave the group the impetus to stage a protest, but Ms Kapsis said she wanted to put some distance between the local movement against racism and the geopolitical stoush.
"We asked people not to bring any national flags to the protest. There are also people from other parts of Asia in the rally."
Chinese officials and state media condemned the attack last week. It came after Beijing recently advised would-be international students against travelling to Australia due to what it described as "rising discrimination against overseas Chinese".
"We once again remind students who plan to study or are studying in Australia to conduct a risk assessment and be cautious when making the choice to go or return to Australia," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said when asked about the Adelaide incident last week.
That gave Ms Kapsis pause. She said she had thought about cancelling the event because some protesters from a mainland China background didn't want to be seen as traitors to Australia.
"It's getting so complicated lately," she said.
"We decided as a group that our activity is not about politics. Our rally is purely out of the interests of our roles as Chinese mothers and fathers and we didn't want to see the tragedies happen to our own kids in the future."
Protesters urged not to 'add more fuel to the fire'
City of Adelaide councillor Simon Hou, a Chinese-Australian, did not want the protest to go ahead.
There were a few reasons for this, he said. Although South Australia has a very low number of coronavirus cases, he said he did not think it was a good idea to gather in large groups during the pandemic.
He told the ABC he did not think the incidents that sparked the protest were explicitly racist, and he was worried the demonstration might turn violent.
He said he was concerned, too, about the protest being used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to shore up their claims about Australia.
"The Chinese Government might use this to say: 'That is the reason why we say Australia is no longer safe,'" he said.
Experts have raised concerns that China is seeking to politicise incidents of racism in Australia, after Australia led global calls for an independent inquiry into how the coronavirus pandemic started.
Mr Hou said different views were held within the Chinese community. While some would support the protest, others would advise against it, given the rising tensions between China and Australia recently.
Mr Hou said the ongoing tit for tat between China and Australia was just putting more pressure on the shoulders of the Chinese-Australian community.
He said he "absolutely" supported standing up against racism experienced by the Asian-Australian community, "but it's the way we handle it, and how we actually raise our voice to the leaders of this country and the state, to not add more fuel to the fire", he said.
Mr Hou said people should talk to local government leaders, police and community members about what to do.
He organised a Zoom meeting on Friday with community members and the lord mayor and police, which he said allowed fruitful discussions with questions and strategies for handling incidents.
Mr Hou said he was pleased to see the protest was well organised, socially distanced and peaceful, but still questioned if it was the best way to make change.
He said he did not want racist incidents to escalate, and urged victims to walk away, take a photo if they needed evidence, and call the police.
'Don't be afraid to be accused of being a CCP shill'
Erin Chew, national convenor for the Asian Australian Alliance, said Asian-Australians were often accused of excusing the CPP when speaking about race.
"Just because of our cultural background, why is it that we are accused of playing into the hands or the propaganda of the CCP?" she said.
"That's not true. We need to separate this."
She said a survey conducted by her organisation had collected some 426 responses about racist incidents during the pandemic.
The people who shared their stories said racist incidents often occurred when they were doing mundane daily tasks, such as shopping or walking.
"These instances have nothing to do with the Chinese Communist Party. And it's very dangerous to put the two together," she said.
"Until there is an acknowledgement that anti-Chinese sentiment in Australia is a form of racism, it is just going to continue."
Jieh-Yung Lo, director of ANU Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership, said the Chinese Government used "racism and discrimination in Australia as leverage in our war of words and rhetoric".
"Advocates here in Australia, especially those of Chinese-Australian heritage, need to be extra careful in not getting caught in the CCP propaganda playbook and worse, having our loyalty and allegiance to Australia questioned by our fellow Australians for calling out something that has resurfaced but long existed in Australia," he said.
"And I feel very saddened by that because [racism] is a legitimate issue here in Australia, and there are advocates out there working day and night to try and find solutions to create a more cohesive society."
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham initially said China's remarks on racism in Australia had "no basis in fact".
He and other Government ministers later acknowledged that racist incidents had occurred, but said they were condemned by most Australians and maintained Australia was a safe place to study.
Mr Lo said he did not want the issue of racism in Australia downplayed simply because it was raised by the CCP, and added that the Chinese Government's propaganda was primarily aimed at sending a message to its domestic audience.
"This should not be an excuse for Australian governments and policymakers to dismiss that racism exists, just because a foreign power or a foreign entity is calling this out," he said.
He said the threat of being labelled a CCP propaganda tool should not silence those calling out racism, and that it helped when Australians from other communities joined them.
Mr Lo added Asian-Australian communities should also support other anti-racism causes, like the Black Lives Matter movement, and condemn comments made by political commentators that stereotyped the African-Australian and Muslim communities during the latest round of pandemic lockdowns in Melbourne.
Ms Chew's encouraged people to speak up.
"If you're just talking about your personal experiences and not talking about the geopolitics, then there really isn't any basis for those accusations to happen."
Read the story in Chinese: 阅读中文版本https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA3LTE4L2NoaW5hLWF1c3RyYWxpYS1jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy1yYWNpc20tYWZmZWN0cy1vbi1vcmRpbmFyeS1wZW9wbGUvMTI0NjkwOTLSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTI0NjkwOTI?oc=5
2020-07-17 19:27:00Z
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