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Post by Admin on Jun 9, 2020 20:12:44 GMT
China has warned students to consider the risks of studying in Australia during the pandemic, aggravating a political row between the nations.  China's education ministry on Tuesday issued the advisory to students before Australian universities reopen in July. The ministry cited the threat of Covid-19 and discrimination against Asians as possible risks. In a statement, it said students should be "cautious" when choosing to go or return to Australia. "The spread of the new global Covid-19 outbreak has not been effectively controlled, and there are risks in international travel and open campuses," the ministry said in its statement. "During the epidemic, there were multiple discriminatory incidents against Asians in Australia."  Students 'staying put' during pandemic The advisory marks the latest escalation in tensions between China and Australia, whose governments have been embroiled in several diplomatic disputes during the coronavirus pandemic. "Australia is a popular destination for international students because we are a successful, multicultural society that welcomes international students and provides a world-class education," Australia's Education Minister, Dan Tehan, said. "Our success at flattening the [coronavirus] curve means we are one of the safest countries in the world for international students to be based in right now." There have been reports of racist abuse and attacks on people from Asian countries in Australia since the pandemic started. In April, a woman was accused of a racist attack on two students from the University of Melbourne. But Australia's Tourism Minister, Simon Birmingham, said China's assertions about the dangers to tourists "have no basis in fact". He said Australia was "the most successful multicultural and migrant society in the world". Australia's universities have already faced financial difficulties during the pandemic, as border closures have deterred international students from enrolling. |
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Post by Admin on Jun 9, 2020 21:24:44 GMT
In its statement, the education ministry reminded "overseas students to conduct a good risk assessment and be cautious about choosing to go to Australia or return to Australia to study."  The notice also warned students that coronavirus still presents a risk if they plan to resume their studies overseas. There are more Chinese students at Australian universities than from any other overseas country. Most international students returned home or were unable to enter Australia when the Federal Government banned travel from several countries, including China, in February. About 1.5 million university students are expected to be back on campus in July to resume face-to-face tutorials. But the Chinese Education Bureau's notice, which has been published widely in Chinese state media, warns students about "racist incidents against Asians" during the coronavirus crisis. The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a travel alert to its citizens on June 6 about the dangers of travelling to Australia due to a "significant increase" in racist attacks on "Chinese and Asian people". "Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial discrimination and violence against Chinese and Asian people in Australia have seen a significant increase," the statement said. In April, two Melbourne University students were allegedly verbally abused and physically assaulted after a pair of women screamed "coronavirus" at them and told them to get out of the country. The two warnings from government agencies come as China launches a propaganda blitz through its state media, lashing Australia for its "attitude" towards China. China's nationalistic tabloid, The Global Times, has led the way, with frequent articles putting all blame for the deteriorating ties on Australia. It has cited everything from Australian concerns about the political situation in Hong Kong and the South China Sea to banning Huawei from 5G and more recently calling for an independent inquiry into coronavirus. |
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Post by Admin on Jun 10, 2020 5:26:41 GMT
Asian-Australians have reported almost 400 racist attacks since the beginning of April to the country's leading survey of anti-China racism. The figures prompted calls for the federal government to track racism better as federal MPs accused the Chinese government of spreading divisive propaganda when on Saturday it encouraged its citizens to avoid travelling to Australia due to a "significant increase" in racial discrimination amid coronavirus.  Osmond Chiu, a fellow at independent progressive thinktank Per Capita, authored the survey in collaboration with the Asian Australian Alliance and Being Asian Australian. "There definitely has been an increase," he said, noting that compared to similar data from the United States, there have been a higher proportion of racist incidents against Asian-Australians than Asian-Americans. The survey, which started on April 2 and will be completed this month, has so far documented 386 racist incidents, including abuse, physical intimidation and spitting. The survey also revealed that roughly 90 per cent of racist incidents were not being reported to police and the vast majority were perpetrated by strangers in public places. Mr Chiu called on the federal government to improve what he said was a disjointed incident reporting process, potentially through the Human Rights Commission. Labor Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs Andrew Giles backed the call as a way to help develop a strong anti-racism strategy. "We've got to do a better job at tracking racism," Mr Giles said. "There's clearly confusion as to how people can report racist incidents and we feel there's a role for national government to do considerably more." Liberal senator Andrew Bragg said the federal government has run an anti-racism campaign during the pandemic, encouraging Australians to report incidents to the Human Rights Commission. "There's not much more we can do other than call it out from the Prime Minister, call it out from senior ministers and run a supportive campaign directly to people," he said. "I'm very pleased with the response." Liberal senator James Paterson said China's comments were a diversion from its own conduct, saying Australia's record on anti-Asian racism proved otherwise. "Australians rightly deplore racism. Knowing this, the Chinese Communist Party uses accusations of racism in an attempt to divide us and deflect criticism of their own conduct," he said. |
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Post by Admin on Jun 11, 2020 7:04:23 GMT
Australian politicians must unite against racism after Chinese-Australians were subjected to “awful and shocking” abuse during the pandemic, the shadow minister for multicultural affairs has told parliament.
Andrew Giles, a Victorian Labor MP, warned that the rise in racist incidents was a threat to social cohesion and demanded “an unambiguous response” from everyone in positions of leadership, which should include a new national strategy to tackle the problem.
His call came after more than 81,000 people signed a change.org petition denouncing racist attacks on Asian Australians during Covid-19. The #UnityOverFear petition urges Scott Morrison and other political leaders to “stand beside your fellow Australians to call for national unity and say no to racism against Asian Australians”.
The prime minister has previously said he deplored racist attacks and thanked Chinese Australians for providing “one of the greatest defences we had in those early weeks” of the pandemic.
The mention of the petition in parliament comes at a sensitive time, given that China’s ministry of education warned students this week to reconsider going to Australia because of a string of “incidents of discrimination” targeting people of Asian descent.
Senior government ministers and universities have pushed back at that warning, with the education minister, Dan Tehan, saying Australia “rejects China’s assertions that Australia is an unsafe destination for international students”.
In a speech to parliament late on Wednesday, Giles said the petition deserved a strong bipartisan response, with leaders uniting to confront “the scourge that is racism”.
“It is critical that our parliament unites in standing up for multiculturalism and for every Australian, that we recognise that Chinese Australians have been subjected to awful and shocking racism through the pandemic, and that we respond to this without equivocation,” he said.
“This evening, we can start the process of recognising as a national parliament, that ending racism is a national responsibility – that when we say we’re all in this together, we mean it.”
Giles said he would not rest “until we have committed to a national strategy to tackle racism” and he praised the Liberal senator Andrew Bragg for speaking out against racism.
Bragg is expected to address the Senate early next week on the issue, expanding on his recent op-ed when he said he was deeply saddened to read reports of a marked escalation in racial abuse towards Asian Australians.
Bragg said in the op-ed: “I know many Chinese-Australians feel under siege – this isn’t right or fair.”
Morrison was asked in April about racist attacks and whether there was a need for a new anti-racism campaign. He replied: “Stop it. That’s my message, and I think that is the message of every Australian. Now is a time to support each other.”
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Post by Admin on Jun 11, 2020 20:54:48 GMT
 Australia said on Thursday that it will not yield to the "coercion" of China, after the Asian giant alerted its students to racist incidents in the oceanic country, in a new episode of growing trade tensions that threaten the multimillion-dollar revenue of Australian universities. China's Ministry of Education this week urged its students to reconsider their study trips to Australia due to "multiple incidents of discrimination against Asian descendants during the pandemic", which has been denied by Australian authorities, reports Efe news. Australian media have reported some cases of harassment of Asians on Australian campuses, but Australian authorities say it is one of the safest countries for international students. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants anyone who attends future anti-racism rallies arrested and charged, with one protestor testing positive for coronavirus.  The prime minister has described Black Lives Matter protests as a "real blocker" to easing coronavirus restrictions. There have been eight new cases of coronavirus recorded overnight and one of those - a non-indigenous man in his 30s - attended last week's rally in Melbourne. It could be weeks before authorities determine whether the man, who wore a mask to the rally, spread the disease to others. And the potential health fallout is impeding decisions around interstate travel, funeral numbers and places of worship. "It just puts a massive spanner in the works and that's why it's so frustrating," he told 2GB radio today . "They have put the whole track back to recovery at risk and certainly any further action on this front would be absolutely unacceptable." Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said the large crowds struggled to maintain social distancing. "If we had had a person or a number of people with Covid-19 amongst those crowds, then there would have been the risk of significant transmission," he told the ABC. The prime minister said protestors should be charged if they attend further Black Lives Matter rallies. "It's a free country and we have our liberty, but the price of liberty is we respect our fellow Australians," he told 3AW radio. "Turning up to a rally this weekend would show great disrespect to your neighbours." |
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