Anti-Chinese turn revealed in Australia

Survey links reports of discrimination to pandemic and souring bilateral ties

Australians may like to think that they are racially tolerant, but a recent survey showed that if you are of Chinese origin you are more likely to face discrimination or hostility in the country.

The survey titled "Being Chinese in Australia: Public Opinion in Chinese Communities", unveiled by the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based foreign affairs think tank, found a sizable number of Chinese Australians saying they experienced discrimination over the past year. Most cited the COVID-19 pandemic and a downturn in Australia-China relations as key contributory factors.

The study, one of the largest such exercises pertaining to the Chinese in Australia, revealed that 18 percent of the Chinese-Australians respondents had been physically threatened or attacked in the past year.