Chinese-Australians report less abuse and better sense of belonging since change of government

A day after Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the National Press Club that the government would be "calm and consistent" in its relationship with China, the Lowy Institute has released a survey showing that a change in the tone of the relationship between the two governments in the past year may be resonating with the local Chinese community.

The third annual Being Chinese in Australia study found that since late 2021 more feel a sense of belonging and fewer report being the target of abuse, threats or attack.

But many are concerned about the direction of Australia's defence and security strategy, with few thinking the AUKUS arrangement or membership of the Quad (Australia, the United States, Japan and India) makes the country safer.

According to the national survey of 1200 adults who self-identify as of Chinese heritage, late last year almost three-quarters expressed pride in Australian life and culture and felt a sense of belonging - up from 64 per cent in the same period the previous year.

A majority (56 per cent) said they also felt a sense of belonging to China, but this proportion has been declining since the first survey in 2020, where 65 per cent expressed such a sentiment.

This shift in outlook has coincided with a steady decline in the proportion experiencing abuse or threats. One in five reported being called an offensive name because of their Chinese heritage, down from almost a third in 2020 while the proportion who experienced physical threat or attack declined from 18 to 14 per cent.

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The 1.4 million-strong Chinese community is considered increasingly political significant. It is increasingly being courted by the major parties and high-profile outcomes including former prime minister John Howard's loss of Bennelong in 2007 and the Liberal Party's historic Aston by-election loss last month have been attributed to shifts in its voting patterns.

"Understanding the views of such a significant, long-standing community is a worthwhile endeavour," the Lowy Institute said. "But it is even more important at a time when the effects of growing geopolitical competition are being felt in Australia."

The institute said that in recent years Chinese-Australians had come under increasingly intense scrutiny. Some have had their loyalty to Australia questioned and accused of ties to the government in Beijing.

Although a majority of Chinese-Australians feel positively towards the country in which they live, the survey identified differences in attitude from the broader population on key defence and security issues.

They are much less enamoured of the importance of Australia's alliance with the United States than most Australians, and are much less inclined to support the deployment of Australian forces in other parts of the world.

As the government pushes ahead with its ambitious AUKUS strategy that includes the acquisition and construction of nuclear-powered submarines, few Chinese-Australians surveyed by Lowy think the defence plan or Australia's membership of the Quad make the country more secure.

Significantly, "most oppose using Australian military forces if China invaded Taiwan and the United States decided to intervene", the Lowy report found.

The AUKUS proposal has bipartisan support but has been heavily criticised by leading Labor figures and and defence experts including former prime minister Paul Keating and ANU Professor Hugh White.

During 2020 and 2021 tensions between Australia and China escalated and resulted in the country being locked out of trade in commodities including coal, wine, barley and some seafood.

Since the change of government there has been a gradually thawing of relations and increased high-level contact between the two governments.

In her speech to the Press Club on Monday, Minister Wong urged an end to the "frenzied discussion" over a possible conflict over Taiwan.

Such speculation was the "most dangerous of parlour games. A war over Taiwan would be catastrophic for all," she said. "Our job is to lower the heat on any potential conflict, while increasing pressure on others to do the same."