<
https://theconversation.com/the-media-normalises-war-mongering-how-chinese-australians-respond-to-talk-of-war-in-mainstream-media-202500>
"Early this month, the
Daily Mail published a story online implying three
Chinese men taking photos at the Avalon Airshow in Melbourne were spies. After
complaints and an open letter condemning the paper for racially profiling the
Chinese communities and throwing around baseless accusations, the story
disappeared from the
Mail’s site without explanation.
Then
The Sydney Morning Herald’s Red Alert series hit people’s WeChat feeds,
claiming a war with China could happen within three years.
The
Daily Mail, like many other media outlets, possibly believed it could
make insinuations of spying with impunity, since many of its intended readers
would likely be sufficiently primed to accept such narratives as common sense.
In fact, a 2022 poll reveals: “Just over four in 10 Australians (42%) say
‘Australians of Chinese origin can be mobilised by the Chinese government to
undermine Australia’s interests and social cohesion’.”
Commenting on the
Mail’s “spy” story, La Trobe University’s Nick Bisley
tweeted, “Yep, this is what happens when the red menace crap is thrown around
carelessly”, apparently connecting it with the Red Alert series. Several
foreign affairs specialists have called the series “pretentious”, “hyperbolic”,
“irresponsible” and “implicitly racist” reporting.
Similarly, a survey I conducted recently on behalf of UTS’s Australia-China
Relations Institute (ACRI) points to another kind of fear. The respondents were
500 migrants from mainland China. A key aim was to understand how their reading
of Australian media stories about China and Chinese-Australian communities
affected their sense of belonging.
A full analysis of the survey will be detailed in a forthcoming ACRI report.
But one survey question was: “To what extent would you be concerned about your
own wellbeing and that of the Chinese-Australian communities if Australia were
at war with China?” More than half (54.68%) said they were “extremely
concerned”. Another 36.10% said they were “quite concerned”. Only around 9%
said they were not concerned.
When juxtaposed, these two sets of survey figures raise a “red alert” of
another kind: regardless of whether a war with China will ever eventuate,
Chinese Australians are rapidly becoming the first casualties of persistent war
talk."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
