Monitoreo y Evaluación de la propuesta

As previously mentioned, Chinese immigrants from Mainland China were among the earliest non-white immigrants to Australia. They came to Australia as early as in the 1840s. Massive number of coolies and free uneducated labourers arrived during the 1850s and the 1860s. These were followed by a decline in immigrant numbers when the gold fields became exhausted. However, trade between Australia and China has been established by some of the early immigrant entrepreneurs such as celebrated Mui Quong Tart (known as Quong Tart) in tea trade with China and the Wings (Wing On, Wing Sang and Wing Tiy) in fruit and greengrocery exports to Hong Kong. The history of immigration from China in Section 3.3.1 is as quoted in Jupp (2001), pp.197-224.

Following the anti-Chinese (and then anti-non-White) movement, the Chinese population dropped from just under 30,000 in the 1901 Census to 6,500 in the 1947 Census. Business environment for the Chinese in Australia was also severely limited, trading companies such as Wing On and Sincere moved their operations to Hong Kong and are still thriving today. From the early 1970s, China-born population in Australia started to increase, however, this group came to Australia from the countries in South East Asia where the communists claimed victory, such as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. This group of Chinese had enough resources to flee themselves from the wars before the wars were concluded. Some of them have established firm businesses in Australia. A small proportion of this group of China- born immigrants came from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia.

A common characteristic of this group of Chinese is that although they were born in China, their places of residence before arriving in Australia were other countries rather than China. There is a conflicting role in this group of Chinese. They considered themselves “Chinese” as a race but little emotional attachment to China as their motherland. When searching for business opportunities, they looked for their place of last residence. However, trade links to the countries they fled were not established until those countries became ready to do business with the Western world.

With abolition of the White Australia policy, the recognition of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by the Whitlam government, the Chinese government relaxing its control of

overseas studies, and the introduction of the ‘Australian-Chinese Family Reunion Agreement’, immigrants from China Mainland started to come to Australia slowly. By 1981, the Chinese born population in Australia was coming back to the level in 1901.

In the mid-1980s, following the improvement of diplomatic relations between the Hawke Labour government and the Chinese government and the relaxation of its control over Chinese students studying overseas, the Australian government was actively marketing education service exports to China. The marketing campaign was successful and it opened up a huge Chinese student market to Australia education institutions. As a result, the China- born population grew more than two fold from 37,000 in 1986 census to 78,000 in 1991 census. The 2001 census showed that the Chinese born population in Australia doubled again to 140,000. This wave of growth in Chinese population is largely the responsibility of family member reunion program sponsored by their close family members who were Chinese students, and who gained permanent resident status after the “Tiananmen Square

Incident” in China in 1989.30

This group of China-born mainly came from Mainland China. They maintain connection with their family and friends in China. It provides opportunity for them to establish trade links with China either as their own business or working for their employers. According to ABS statistics, in 1991, Australia’s merchandise exports to China expanded more than two fold of its export level in 1981. Within the next decade, from 1991 to 2001, exports to China were rapidly grown five times. Over the same period, imports grew six times from 1981 to 1991, and grew another six times again during the next decade. In the financial year 200-01, China was Australia’s fifth major trade partner. Table 3.1 below illustrates the Chinese population in Australia and Australian trade with China.

Chinese immigrants, who particularly arrived in the mid-1980 to the 1990s, were predominantly international students, studying in English courses in Australia. Most of them financed their studies by heavily borrowing from their relatives and friends back home. Their visa status restricted their ability to work in Australia. The inability to access to

30 _{The Australian Labour government decision of granting temporary resident status (later converted into}

permanent resident status) to Chinese students who came to Australia before the 4th June 1989 did not have the impact on raising the China-born population in Australia. However, it had the impact on immigration “category jump” from student visa to permanent resident visa.

finance also limited them from engaging in international trade. Their permanent residence status in Australia was certain in 1994. There would be a considerable lag time between the arrivals of those students to their effect on Australian trade with China.

Table 3.1 China-born Population in Australia and Australian Trade with China

(Selected Years)

Year

China-borna

(Selected Census Years) Year

Trade with Chinab

(A$’000) Exports Imports 1901 29,907 1901 258 319 1911 20,775 1910 228 159 1921 15,244 1920 656 2,069 1933 8,579 1930 6,702 695 1947 2,759 1940 7,028 1,118 1954 2,954 1950 1,700 5,314 1961 14,488 1960 79,714 7,948 1971 17,601 1970 63,277 31,584 1981 26,760 1980 670,878 219,486 1991 77,799 1990 1,347,502 1,502,784 1996 110,987 2000 6,842,539 9,881,097 2001 156,996 2001 7,581,000 10,313,000 2005 191,194 2005 19,156,000 22,570,000

Source: a – The birthplace data for censuses of 1901 to 1996 are from Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (2001). The birthplace data for 2001 and 2005 are from ABS publication: cat. no. 3105.0.65.001 Australian Historical Population Statistics, TABLE 87. Estimated resident population, sex and country of birth, Australia, 30 June, 1996 onwards. b – Trade with China data for 1901 to 2000 are from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2002). Trade data for year 2001 are from ABS publication cat. no. 5368.0 International Merchandise Exports, Australia and cat. no. 5439.0 International Merchandise Imports, Australia. Trade data for 2005 are from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2006). All trade data are recorded in current dollar values at each year.

Strong economic growth in China during the last two decades has reformed the social structure in China. A new middle class appeared for the first time over the last fifty years. One strategy to secure their newly accumulated wealth is to seek an overseas haven. Business and investment immigration become a current trend. Some of those business immigrants established businesses in Australia and some of them travel frequently between Australia and China to pursue their business opportunities in China while leaving their families in Australia.

3.3.2

Hong Kong

Hong Kong became a British dependency from 1842 as part of the Treaty of Nanking. It returned to China as a Special Administrative Region from 1 July 1997. In the early 1900s, Hong Kong mainly served as a port for the British to trade with China. After WWII, Hong Kong has developed as a centre of international trade and finance. It also developed its own industries and became world famous for its filming, electronic and garment industries. Before the 1980s, very few people migrated to Australia from Hong Kong. The favoured immigration destinations for the Hong Kong people were the UK and the USA. In the late 1970s, the UK government anticipated the return of Hong Kong to China and legislated to prevent Hong Kong Chinese British subjects to “flood” the UK. Then the favourable immigration destination for Hong Kong people shifted from the UK to Canada and Australia because those countries’ images for clean environment, low crime rate and friendly people. The Sino-British joint declaration in 1984 for returning Hong Kong to China triggered a new wave of emigration. Hong Kong Chinese community in Australia has grown rapidly since then. This group of immigrants were skilled, vibrant and had sufficient resources to satisfy Australian government’s requirements as independent immigrants. They were more prepared for the job market or ready to set up businesses. Exports to Hong Kong expanded five fold between 1980 and 1990, and imports doubled within the same period, with a favourable trade balance for Australia (refer Table 3.2). Hong Kong absorbed 1.6% of Australia’s exports in 1980-81, 3.0% in 1990-01 and 3.3% in 2000-01. It was Australia’s ninth major trade partner.

Since there are a considerable proportion of Hong Kong immigrants born in China but gained residence status in Hong Kong later in their life, the statistics for Hong Kong born would underestimate the stock of Hong Kong immigrants in Australia. By the same token, it also over-estimates the stock of immigrants from Mainland Chinese.

Table 3.2 Hong Kong-born Population in Australia and Australian Trade with Hong Kong (Selected Years)

Year

Hong Kong-borna

(Selected Census Years) Year

Trade with Hong Kongb

(A$’000) Exports Imports 1901 167 1901 827 570 1911 413 1910 1,388 489 1921 337 1920 1,734 88 1933 236 1930 765 29 1947 762 1940 2,265 218 1954 1,554 1950 11,936 3,830 1961 3,544 1960 37,578 12,486 1971 5,583 1970 90,403 61,116 1981 15,717 1980 306,726 394,106 1991 57,510 1990 1,559,805 740,559 1996 68,437 2000 3,910,347 1,362,528 2001 75,180 2001 4,191,000 1,418,000 2005 76,218 2005 4,228,000 2,941,000

Source: a – The birthplace data for 1901 to 1996 are from Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (2001). The birthplace data for 2001 and 2005 are from ABS publication: cat. no. 3105.0.65.001 Australian Historical Population Statistics, TABLE 87. Estimated resident population, sex and country of birth, Australia, 30 June, 1996 onwards. b – Trade with Hong Kong data for 1901 to 2000 are from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2002). Trade data for year 2001are from ABS publication cat. no. 5368.0 International Merchandise Exports, Australia and cat. no. 5439.0 International Merchandise Imports, Australia. Trade data for 2005 are from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2006). All trade data are recorded in current dollar values at each year.

3.3.3

Indonesia

The modern nation of Indonesia was founded in December 1949. It consists of more than 13,600 islands and stretches over 5,000 kilometres along the Equator. In historical times, it consisted of hundreds of small states, which ruled by their own rulers. Its spice trade was forced in favourable terms to the Portuguese’s traders in the 1500s and then was controlled by the Dutch East Indies Company from the 1600s to the early 1800s when the control was passed on to the Dutch government. By 1910, the Dutch government gained administration of the whole of Indonesia, which was known as Netherlands East Indies. The Portuguese and the Dutch made huge profits from monopolising spice trade. They also made the Indonesian too poor to buy foreign goods. The trade was almost one-way exporting from Indonesia to the Netherlands.

Because of Indonesia’s proximity to Australia, the visits by Indonesians to Australia had been as early as the visits of White people. However, the Indonesians were seasonal

fishermen and their visits were limited to the Australia’s northern coasts. They built processing facilities on shore and processed their catchments and then sold their products mainly to the Chinese market for Chinese cuisine. They usually left at the end of the fishing season and returned in the next year. They had contacts with aboriginal people and had certain influence on aboriginal language, culture and religion in the region. With the implementation of the White Australia policy, the South Australia government banned this kind of fishery activities, and the Indonesian visits subsided.

However, a group of Indonesians were immune from the White Australia policy. They were the pearl divers working in the north and northwestern coastal regions. Exemption was granted to Indonesian pearl divers because there was a lack of supply of skilled White workers who do this kind of dangerous jobs.

During WWII, following the attack by the Japanese on Indonesia, the Dutch colonial government retreated into Australia. It brought with them about 10,000 Indonesian military, civil and domestic servants into Australia along with 500 political prisoners (Penny & Gunawan, 2001). They all returned to Indonesia after the war.

After the war, a new development to bring Australia closer to its Asian neighbouring countries and increasing Australia’s involvement in the economic and social development in Asia was proposed by Australia’s foreign minister Sir Percy Spencer at a Commonwealth foreign ministers’ meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in 1950 (known as the Colombo Plan). As part of the plan, some Indonesian students received scholarship aid to study engineering in Australia. Australia also recruited Indonesian language teachers and radio broadcasters. Some of them got married with Australians and settled in Australia. In the 1960s, increasing contacts between Australia and Asian countries eased the restriction on non-White immigration and a small number of Indonesian immigrants were allowed to enter into Australia.

In the 1970s, the economic take-off in Indonesia made travelling more affordable to the middle class Indonesians. With the introduction of the non-discriminatory immigration policy in Australia, Indonesian immigrant stock grew since then.

Indonesian-Australians were moving between Australia and Indonesia in the 1980s and the 1990s to pursue economic opportunities between these two countries. In the 1980s, the economic growth in Indonesia attracted some Indonesians back and they traded with Australia. Since the 1997 Asian economic melt down, some of these families moved back to Australia. Although a high proportion of Indonesian immigrants are ethnic Chinese, their contacts remain in Indonesia. Indonesia would be the first choice for their business activities. About 2.6% of Australia’s exports was sold to Indonesia in 2000-2001 and Indonesia ranked the tenth major trade partner. Table 3.3 below presents Indonesian immigrant stock in Australia and Australia’s international trade with Indonesia.

Table 3.3 Indonesia-born Population in Australia and Australian Trade with Indonesia (Selected Years)

Year

Indonesia-borna

(Selected Census Years) Year

Trade with Indonesiab

(A$’000) Exports Imports 1901 409 1,876 1910 795 1,163 1920 5,137 17,598 1947 918 1930 2,873 8,022 1954 3,631 1940 6,113 16,347 1961 6,018 1950 6,486 43,576 1971 7,981 1960 11,814 57,525 1981 12,463 1970 39,076 22,523 1991 32,688 1980 356,158 416,791 1996 44,157 1990 1,462,287 783,742 2001 51,829 2000 3,112,125 3,278476 2005 65,914 2005 4,436,000 4,540,000

Source: a –The birthplace data for 1947 and 1954 are from ABS publication: cat. no. 3105.0.65.001 Australian Historical Population Statistics, TABLE 76. Population, sex and country of birth, states and territories, 1947 census. The birthplace data for 1961 to 1996 are from Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (2001). The birthplace data for 2001 and 2005 are from ABS publication: cat. no. 3105.0.65.001 Australian Historical Population Statistics, TABLE 87. Estimated resident population, sex and country of birth, Australia, 30 June, 1996 onwards. b – Trade data are from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2002 and 2006). All trade data are recorded in current dollar values at each year.

3.3.4

Japan

Japan had virtually closed borders to shield foreign influence for more than two hundred years from the 1630s to the 1850s. During that period, Japan pursued its own pace of economic and social development. It laid the foundation for economic take-off and then was flying high for the next 150 years. During this two hundred year period, foreigners were not

welcome and Japanese people were not allowed to leave the country. The Japanese missed out the opportunity to work in the gold fields during the gold rush in Australia.

Following the Europeans’ success to force China to sign an unequal treaty in 1842 and open up trade in the Europeans’ terms, the U.S. decided to open up Japan. A series of struggles and negotiations between the U.S. and Japan from 1853 led to the treaty of commerce in 1858 allowing the U.S. to trade with Japan and also to give the privilege to the U.S. citizens over the Japanese. The Japanese viewed this treaty as unequal as well. It bred strong nationalism for self-strength to compete against Westerners. The Meiji emperor adopted an ambitious economic and military development strategy.

The Japanese found that the treaty of commerce with the U.S. did give them some benefits; Japanese labourers and sex workers would work in the U.S., although under unfavourable conditions. They earned a handsome foreign reserve to fuel Japan’s development. This lucrative market shifted Japan’s immigration policy from no emigration to fighting for the right to export workers. Unlike the Chinese Chin government who were more interested in exploiting its overseas subjects, the Japanese government refused to become the source of coolie workers. It took an active role to supervise its immigrant workers’ welfare.

By that time, the Japanese started to look at Australia as a favourable immigration destination, since Australia was having problems with the Chinese gold miners. Although the Japanese insisted that they were the superior race over the Chinese, in the Australian dominions’ view, the Japanese were as bad as the Chinese or even worse because they were suspected to colonise Australia, and at least the increasing Japanese naval power in the region supported this suspicion. Thus, the Japanese were brought under the umbrella of the Immigration Restriction Act.

Although Japan was a major buyer of Australia’s natural resources exports, up to the WWII, there were only a few thousands of Japanese resided in Australia in the occupations of pearl divers (replacing the Indonesian pearl divers), sugar cane field workers, menservants, laundrymen, international firm staff and a number of business people.

During the Pacific war, all Japanese, regardless of age, sex and place of birth, were locked up in camps and later deported because they were known to be loyal to their emperor.

Japanese assets were confiscated. By 1949, there were only 50 Japanese left in Australia (Oliver, 2001).

After the war and until the mid-1960s, when the White Australia policy was still having a stronghold, Japanese entries were bitterly restricted. Even those “war brides” (Japanese wives of Australian service men as the occupation force in Japan) were not allowed to be admitted until 1952. Business visas were also restricted to 3-6 months only in 1951. It was gradually relaxed up to four years in 1962. Some pre-war long-term residents were allowed to return in 1963. After the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, Japanese immigrant stocks in Australia grew slowly. However, it was relatively smaller than other Asian immigrants stocks. Today, there are large inflows of Japanese tourists but the permanent resident community is still relatively small. However, Japan’s trade with Australia grew faster than its immigrant stock (refer to Table 3.4).

Table 3.4 Japan-born Population in Australia and Australian Trade with Japan (Selected Years)

Year

Japan-born a

(Selected Census Year) Year

Trade with Japanb

(A$’000) Exports Imports 1901 247 576 1910 1,314 1,437 1920 6,235 10,460 1930 19,001 4,759 1947 330 1940 10,728 7,201 1954 966 1950 123,100 31,190 1961 2,306 1960 322,976 130,890 1971 4,006 1970 1,197145 574,032 1981 6,818 1980 5,221647 3,623,188 1991 18,485 1990 14,378,460 8,849,250 1996 23,015 2000 23,502,609 15,370,569 2001 25,472 2001 23,723,000 15,259,000 2005 28,717 2005 31,825,000 19,192,000

Source: a – The birthplace data: From1947 to 1996 are from ABS cat. no. 3105.0.65.001 Australian Historical Population Statistics, varies years, from 2001 to 2005 are from ABS publication: cat. no. 3105.0.65.001 Australian Historical Population Statistics, TABLE 87. Estimated resident population, sex and country of birth, Australia, 30 June, 1996 onwards. b – Trade data with Japan for 1901 to 2000 are from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2002). Trade data for year 2001 are from dX EconData, ABS Time Series Statistics Plus, Table 5432-03 and Table 5439-03. Trade data for 2005 are from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2006). All trade data are recorded in current dollar values at each year.

Australia enjoyed a trade surplus over Japan throughout the history and still it is the case today. Japan bought 27.6% of Australia’s total exports in 1980-01, 27.4% in 1990-01 and

19.7% in 2000-01. Although the lion’s share that Japan took from Australia’s exports