POLITICS
CW: RACISM, SEXUAL ASSAULT, XENOPHOBIA When Trump was elected in 2016, the reaction from this side of the world was one of eye-rolling amusement. It seemed all too typical of the United States — home to Hollywood and the cult of celebrity — to elect a reality TV star as their world representative. Of course, after a few months, the serious implications of having someone with such little experience of political diplomacy in a position of immense power became glaringly obvious. Within months, we saw images of children in cages, borders shutting down, and Trump literally erecting a wall on the border between the USA and Mexico. From the beginning, the value of this wall was far more symbolic than functional. It not only validated the deep insecurities and nationalist sentiments of white America, but gave agency to conservative circles throughout the world. In Trump, we saw a rise of xenophobic ideology and a voice to concerns of foreign interference, all of which had been bubbling before his election.
“We now see … evidence, Mr Speaker, that the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Government, has also made a decision about who they’re going to back in the next federal election, Mr Speaker, and they’ve picked this bloke.” Peter Dutton, 2022
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Fast forward six years. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Defence Minister Peter Dutton has accused Anthony Albanese of being a puppet for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during a Question Time in February, solidifying Australia’s hostile post-pandemic attitude towards China. Though debated, the root of this ill-will can likely be traced back to Tony Abbott’s Free Trade Agreement with China in 2015. Following this deal, we saw the Chinese government purchase the Port of Darwin in 2015, an increase in foreign Chinese investment on Australian farms, and an explosion of mistrust following the COVID-19 outbreak. 1 To discuss the current political landscape, we must first understand the history of hostility towards Chinese-Australians in this country.
