Taiwanese Australian
Encyclopedia
A Taiwanese Australian is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

ese ancestry. This term also sometimes fluidly applies to those whose parents or relatives are associated with the post-1949 Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 as well as pre-1949 Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 people in Australia who recognize themselves as ROC
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 citizens (like the Chinese in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

) before the communist revolution.

Immigration

The exact number of Taiwanese Australian is hard to calculate since most demographic research tends to clump immigrants from People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, into the broadly-defined "Chinese Australian" category as both the governments of People's Republic of China and Australia regard Taiwanese Australians as a subgroup of Chinese Australians due to the 'One China Policy' adopted by the Australian government with the recognition of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 in 1972 as Republic of China was ousted by majority of Member States of the United Nations General Assembly voting in United Nations Resolution 2758. This has consequently been a subject of controversy
Political status of Taiwan
The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become unified with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare...

 especially with those of the Pan-Green coalition in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 that advocates Taiwan independence, that contradicts Australia's One China Policy to the island of Taiwan with recognition of People's Republic of China as the sole government of China that Taiwan is a part of China, and One China Policy adopted by Australia is different from the perspective of the United States that Australia does not have a "Taiwan Relations Act", but Australia does have a (number of) domestic Racial Equality-related Act(s) since Multiculturalism of Australia after the era of White Australia Policy from 1980's onwards as Australia was preparing to integrate in Asia, therefore, the term "Taiwanese Australian" officially refers to the broader Asian Chinese community in Australia (People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan). Most statistics for the number of Taiwanese Australians, including one by the Pan-Independence Formosan Association for Public Affairs
Formosan Association for Public Affairs
The Formosan Association for Public Affairs is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that seeks to build worldwide support for Taiwan independence. Its 52 chapters also seek to advance the interests of Taiwanese people and communities around the world. Currently, the President of FAPA...

 (FAPA), puts an estimate at around 24,000. although there have be thousands more who had not been counted/immigrated since the estimation.

Immigration to Australia

Prior to the 1950s emigration off of Taiwan was negligible. During Taiwan's early history, the island was sparsely populated by Austronesian aboriginals and in the 17th and 18th centuries it served as a destination point for migrating Chinese, primarily Minnan and Hakka. In 1895 Japan took over control of Taiwan following the first Sino-Japanese war
First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...

. Japanese colonial control severely curtailed any movement off the island in the interest of containing dissent against the Japanese Empire. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, opportunities for immigration from Taiwan to Australia were virtually nonexistent before the 1950s.

Immigrants vs. native-born

First generation immigrants from Taiwan usually share a common language, Mandarin, although many also speak Taiwanese Hokkien, commonly referred to as "Taiwanese", and to a lesser extent, the Hakka language. As with most immigrants to Australia, linguistic fluency in the heritage language quickly disappears in the second generation. Many second generation Taiwanese Australians are exposed to Taiwanese, but their level of proficiency varies. Many second generation immigrants speak Taiwanese as their heritage language and may not know any Mandarin. This is typical for many overseas Taiwanese. There are also second generation Taiwanese, especially whose families are from the Taipei Metropolitan Area, who speak Mandarin as their heritage language and know little Taiwanese. Mandarin or Taiwanese as the heritage language, however, depends on parents, and whether the individuals are exposed to Mandarin through Mandarin Chinese schools. Second generation Taiwanese of Hakka descent tend to speak better Mandarin as their heritage language. There are many first generation Taiwanese of full Hakka heritage who may speak all three languages. Taiwanese Australians of mixed Hoklo and Hakka Heritage may speak only Mandarin as their heritage language. Second Generation Taiwanese who are of mixed Hoklo Taiwanese and Waisheng Taiwanese (or other Chinese) heritage may only know Mandarin at most and not a word of Taiwanese.

Settlement

Brisbane remains as Australia's top Taiwanese settling city with Sydney and Melbourne coming in close. The number of Taiwanese people in Brisbane vastly surpasses those of People's Republic of China and Hong Kong (With Brisbane having the least population from People's Republic of China), largely due to anti-multiculturalism sentiment specifically in that area (Brisbane) in the 1990's. Generally, from the highest standard of observation of United Nations Human Rights Committee (United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR)/United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)) that racism that violates racial equality from White Australian does exist and it is still very much alive in Australia with one-forth of Australian citizens have experienced discrimination based on race, ethnic or national background, and there are mistakes when Australia practices Universal Human Rights because of White Nationalism of Australia (and there is no space for Asian Nationalism for Australia, yet, in a big question), that there are still historical traces of racial segregation and racism of White Australia Policy in Australia today, especially to Asian immigrants with the sense of supremacy of White Australian to people from the Southeast Asia region and sometimes White Australians would treat Asians altogether from Southeast Asia region regardless of respect to all races, for example, the notable Paulin Hanson and many of her loyal White Australian supporters during elections time, and whether these votes had been absorbed later to National Party of Australia or Liberal party of Australia that affect policy making of the Australian Parliament is important to the health and decisive growth of the ethnic communities in Australia and for the future development of Australia with a functioning government. Overall, Australia might not be similar to the western cultural context that people from Taiwan are familiar with, unlike United States, although Australia decided to open an official diplomatic mission in Taipei in 1966 by Prime Minister Harold Holt of the Liberal Party of Australia and reciprocally Taipei had an Embassy in Canberra at that time but only for 6 years, since 1972, Australia does not have political commitment (including artillery sales and economic aid) to Republic of China and because Australia is a minor role in the East Asian region with insignificant trading relations with Taipei, that Taiwan weighs less importantly than People's Republic of China in the East Asia region from the Australian posture and to the broader Asian community in the Australian context as well since Republic of China does not withstand changing international situation on and after 1972, but it does not mean domestic Taiwanese Australian in Australia is opaque in the Australian legal system, as every (Australian's) individual's achievement is legally protected. Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986, Age Discrimination Act 2004, Disability Discrimination Act 1992, Racial Discrimination Act 1975, Sex Discrimination Act 1984 cover aspects of legal protections to every Australian in need.

See also

  • http://www.equalitylaw.org.au/nhrap/focus-area/culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-communities
  • http://www.equalitylaw.org.au/nhrap/focus-area/equality-and-non-discrimination-laws
  • http://www.equalitylaw.org.au/nhrap/focus-area/constitutional-and-legislative-framework
  • http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/legislation/index.html#rda
  • Taiwanese people
    Taiwanese people
    Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...

  • Demographics of Australia
    Demographics of Australia
    This article is about the demographic features of the population of Australia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religions, and other aspects of the population....

  • Chinese Australian
    Chinese Australian
    Chinese Australian is an Australian of Chinese heritage. In the 2006 Australian Census, 669,890 Australian residents identified themselves as having Chinese ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry....

  • Taiwanese Canadian
  • Taiwanese American
  • Diaspora politics in Australia
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