Chinese Immigration and Australian Politics : A Critical Analysis on a Merit-Based Immigration System

This book analyses how an increasing number of new Chinese migrants have integrated into Australian society and added a new dimension to Australian domestic politics as a result of Australia's merit-based immigration system and its shift towards Asia. These policies have helped Australia sustain its growth without a recession for decades, but have also slowly changed established patterns in the distribution of job opportunities, wealth, and political influence in the country. These transformations have recently triggered a strong Sinophobic campaign in Australia, the most disturbing aspect of which is the denial of the successful integration of Chinese migrants into Australian society. Based on evidence gathered through a longitudinal study of Chinese migrants in Australia, this book examines the misconceptions troubling Australia's current China debate from six important but overlooked perspectives, ranging from migration policy changes, economic factors, grassroots responses, the role of major political parties, community activism, to knowledge issues. Jia Gao is Professor at the Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne. He has produced wide-ranging publications in both English and Chinese, including the following books: Chinese Activism of a Different Kind (2013), Chinese Migrant Entrepreneurship in Australia from the Early 1990s (2015), and Social Mobilisation in Post-Industrial China (2019). Preface 6 References 11 Acknowledgements 12 Contents 14 Abbreviations 16 List of Figures 18 List of Tables 20 Chapter 1: Post-multicultural Realities Distorted by Pre-multicultural Ideologies 21 Chinese in Australia 23 Theoretical Contexts 30 Studies of New Chinese Migration to Australia 30 Merit-based Immigration Systems 33 Medium-term Policy Impact and Evaluation 36 Towards a New Approach 38 Organisation of the Book 43 References 49 Chapter 2: Australia’s New Immigration Selection Tetralogy 62 Economic Restructuring 64 Shifting the Focus of Immigration 68 Utilitarian Use of Immigration 74 The Community Reformed by the New Tetralogy 81 References 91 Chapter 3: Chinese Entrepreneurialism and Australia’s China-dependent Economy 99 Post-migration Realities in Australia 101 Riding on Two Waves of Transformation 108 Becoming a China-Reliant Economy 116 References 128 Chapter 4: Australian Responses to the Rise of Chinese Immigration 133 Australia’s Long-held Fear of China 135 Competition in Secondary School Education 141 Growing Distance from Each Other 146 Chinese as Scapegoats for High Housing Prices 154 References 164 Chapter 5: Chinese as Voting Blocs in Australian Politics 171 Chinese Voters as Pro-Labor 173 The Community Disrupted by Major Political Parties 181 The 2017 Bennelong By-Election 190 References 200 Chapter 6: Integration-Inspired Community Activism and Pushing the Bamboo Ceiling in Australia 207 A New Breed of Non-timid Chinese 209 Enthusiastic Responses to Integration in Australia 216 Protecting the Rights of Migrants and New Tensions 223 The Double-Edged Bridging Role 228 References 235 Chapter 7: Established Elites Challenged by the Historical Shift Towards Asia 241 The Persistence of the Pringle–Horne Phenomenon 243 Reluctance to be Part of Asia 250 Tackling the New Realities Without Understanding 258 References 267 Chapter 8: Conclusion: Getting Back on the Track of Nation-Building 274 Summary of Findings 276 Towards a Historical Political-Economic Approach 283 Practical Implications and Future Research 289 References 296 References 298 Index 341 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxi Post-multicultural Realities Distorted by Pre-multicultural Ideologies (Jia Gao)....Pages 1-41 Australia’s New Immigration Selection Tetralogy (Jia Gao)....Pages 43-79 Chinese Entrepreneurialism and Australia’s China-dependent Economy (Jia Gao)....Pages 81-114 Australian Responses to the Rise of Chinese Immigration (Jia Gao)....Pages 115-152 Chinese as Voting Blocs in Australian Politics (Jia Gao)....Pages 153-188 Integration-Inspired Community Activism and Pushing the Bamboo Ceiling in Australia (Jia Gao)....Pages 189-222 Established Elites Challenged by the Historical Shift Towards Asia (Jia Gao)....Pages 223-255 Conclusion: Getting Back on the Track of Nation-Building (Jia Gao)....Pages 257-280 Back Matter ....Pages 281-328