Poll: Chinese-Australians Report Less Racism, Greater Belonging

Facts

• The number of Chinese-Australians who reported being called offensive names dropped to 21% in 2022, compared to 31% in 2020, according to a new poll from the Sydney-based Lowy Institute.¹
• The Lowy Institute has conducted annual polls to gauge Chinese-Australians’ opinions of the country since Australia and China fell on bad terms at the onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020.²
• Chinese-Australians also reported reduced rates of being physically threatened due to their heritage last year, with the figure falling from 18% to 14%. An overwhelming majority of 92% also rated Australia as a “very good place to live,” up from 77% in 2020.¹
• Meanwhile, respondents were split over whether the "AUKUS" defense technology partnership between Australia, the US, and the UK made Australia safer, with 27% saying it does, and 26% saying it doesn’t. Comparatively, 52% of the Australian population said AUKUS made the country safer.³
• There are 1.4M Australians of Chinese ancestry — 5.5%, of the population — making the demographic increasingly important in both state and federal elections.⁴

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Guardian, ³South China Morning Post, and ⁴The Sydney Morning Herald.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Lowy Institute. Australia has done an excellent job managing the delicate diplomatic tensions with China while considering the daily experience of its citizens with Chinese heritage. Although COVID put a strain on Australia’s relationship with China, misplaced racial animosity from the pandemic seems to be in the past.
• Narrative B, as provided by Archive. Although it’s promising that Chinese-Australians are reporting less racism compared to years past, there are still far too many instances of racially motivated abuse. Discrimination should never be tolerated, and 21% of Chinese-Australians reporting that they were called offensive names is unacceptable. Australia must continue its progress toward equality and fair treatment.