What is an immigrant like?
Our readers in Australia are almost certainly first-generation immigrants, whether they come from Hong Kong, China or Southeast Asia, with different identities, experiences and backgrounds, but as immigrants living in Australia, we have encountered many of the same difficulties and similar adaptations. Australia is an immigrant-majority and immigrant-led country, and the process of social formation is different from that of other countries around the world. Therefore, the concepts of “rootedness” and “multiculturalism” are issues that we, as first-generation immigrant readers, mainly from China and Hong Kong, need to understand and explore.
Like many Chinese people, I have always had the mistaken belief that only Chinese or Chinese people will leave their homeland and migrate to the world. According to the United Nations, in 2022, there were 281 million people leaving their country of birth to emigrate to other countries. Among them, Indians were the most emigrated people, with 18 million, followed by Mexicans, with 11 million, Russians, with 10.8 million, Chinese were only the fourth largest exporter, with 10 million, and the fifth largest emigrant was the Syrian Arab Republic, with 8 million. Immigrants from these countries have different reasons and methods of immigration. Therefore, when we try to understand how immigrants live, we have to bear in mind that the problems faced by Chinese immigrants in the countries where they settle are most likely to be very different from those of other immigrant groups, and that the attitudes of each country towards new immigrants are also different.
Before we left Hong Kong to settle in Australia, I believe that most Hong Kong people have never considered the fact that hundreds of thousands of Filipino maids, Indonesian maids, Thai maids or South Asian residents in Hong Kong are also Hong Kong residents, and whether they enjoy the same rights as we do. If we think about it carefully, we will know that they are subject to great restrictions in their lives, such as not being able to change jobs at will, or having to take out insurance for medical treatment, or not having social security, etc. If we think about this as a migrant in Australia, if Australia give the same rights as we do to them in Hong Kong today, we would not have the same rights as Australians now. If the Australian government and society were to adopt the policy of Hong Kong in treating hundreds of thousands of short-term domestic helpers as they treat short-term labourers in Australia, would we find it reasonable?
I think that a country’s policy towards immigrants also reflects the values of the society, or whether the country is worth living in for a long time. Or should we stay in this country permanently?
Do immigrants need to root here?
Immigrants, or those who come to live in a country with a different social identity, will also affect their attitude towards that country. Most Asian domestic helpers in Hong Kong go back to their home countries as soon as they have earned enough money, because most of their families are still in their home countries. From the very beginning, they are temporary residents with no intention of taking root in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong society does not want them to stay here permanently. It can be said that even if they are eligible to become permanent residents of Hong Kong, they will eventually choose to “return to their roots” and reunite with their families in their home countries.
The United States absorbs the largest number of immigrants in the world, about 50 million, accounting for about one-sixth of the US population. Germany, Russia, France and the United Kingdom have also absorbed a lot of immigrants, mainly due to the rapid decline in their own populations as a result of the rapid decline in fertility rates, which has resulted in a large number of residents of their former colonial countries. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have also absorbed a lot of immigrants, especially the United Arab Emirates, where foreign workers accounted for more than 80% of the population, due to a large demand for labour in a country with a small population and a rich country. Australia and Canada are alternative immigrant countries, implementing multicultural policies and building a fair civil society. In Australia, the total number of immigrants accounts for about 30% of the population, together with a large number of second-generation immigrants, and the multicultural population (i.e., the first generation and the second generation of immigrants with one immigrant parent) accounts for more than half of the population.
It can be said that the United States is a great blend of the world’s population, creating a unique American culture, and each individual is considered to have created the United States of America as it is today. For this reason, people who settle in the United States make it their home and seldom return to their place of origin. Western European countries such as Germany, France, Spain, and Italy are changing from European countries with rich historical traditions to countries with declining populations. The immigrants to these European countries are mostly coloured people who live in affluent societies and not many of them are willing to return to their original countries. In Russia, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the population of the neighbouring member states also entered Russia, and the situation was more complicated due to political changes. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, are made up of a small number of nationals who enjoy many rights and benefits as residents and foreign workers who do not have many opportunities for advancement. The situation is somewhat similar to that of Hong Kong’s Chinese community with a large number of short-term residents living in the country. For these short-term workers, there is no possibility for them to put down roots.
Multiculturalism in Australia
Australia is unique in that it is a vast country with Australians living alone in the Pacific Ocean, a long way from their former sovereign, the United Kingdom. The population has always been small, so in recent times the opening up of immigration quotas for immigrants from all over the world has led to the formation of a multicultural, Western, democratic society in the last 30 to 40 years. In addition, the rapid development of technology and air transport has accelerated Australia’s contact with the rest of the world and promoted globalisation. This has enabled immigrants from different nationalities to integrate into the Australian society and at the same time continue to connect with and care for their friends in their place of origin, and to continue their original life, culture and social relationships.
So, do the first generation of immigrants like multicultural Australia?
From my contact with immigrants of different ethnicities, most of them agree that Australian society has more opportunities for them to develop, and they yearn for the freedom and richness of life here, so most of them do not want to go back to their original place of origin where the living conditions are poorer. They also find that the tolerance of different cultures in Australian society gives them more room to continue their original life and culture, and therefore most of them support the development of Australia into a pluralistic society. Because these people account for a very high proportion of the Australian population, the government in power and the political parties that hope to come to power will, at least in their public policies, strongly support the development of Australia into a multicultural society.
Today, not many Australians believe that Australia should revert to a Western, British culture, but many immigrants do not want Australia to become like the Asian countries with their authoritarian rule and unfair societies. As a result, multiculturalism has become synonymous with an egalitarian society in Australia. The acceptance of multiculturalism means that everyone, regardless of where they come from, must be respected, and this is a fundamental pillar of social equality.
However, the integration of immigrants from different communities in Australia is still in its infancy. Chinese seldom participate in Jewish cultural activities, Italians do not celebrate the Lunar New Year with Chinese, Western Australians rarely participate in Chinese calligraphy and painting exhibitions, and Chinese participation in Indian celebrations of the Festival of Lights is rare. It can be said that the current consensus in Australian society is that each ethnic group has the right to preserve its own culture in the society, but it has not yet developed to the stage of promoting mutual exchanges, mutual appreciation, learning and integration.
Chinese culture plays an important role
Although Chinese people from different regions have different living habits and political views, they are still the largest multicultural ethnic group today and share the same historical and cultural roots. What is even more interesting is that up until the 1970s, many Chinese living in Southeast Asia regarded themselves as highly cultured expatriates in the region, and many of them still valued their Chinese culture when they came to Australia. Therefore, even though there are more Indian immigrants than Chinese immigrants every year, the respect and interest in Chinese culture in Australian society is still much higher than that of other ethnic groups.
China’s economic take-off in the last 30 years, and Australia’s heavy reliance on China for economic development, has led to a greater interest in learning about China and Chinese culture in the Australian community. Until China’s war-wolf diplomacy, Australians were mostly friendly to the Chinese and respected their culture. Today, despite the tense relationship between Australia and China and the fierce competition between China and the West, many Australians are still interested in Chinese culture.
Chinese immigrants to Australia, under this major theme, it is worthwhile for us to think about how to introduce the beautiful aspects of our culture to Australians, so that they can have a deeper understanding of it, as well as to promote it to immigrants of other ethnic groups. Only in this way can the Chinese have a greater influence in Australia’s future. Our strengths as immigrants are not only our capital, qualifications and skills, but also the relationships, achievements and experiences we have built up in the past, which are recognised. What sets us apart from typical Australians is our culture. While we are rooted in Australia, I believe that adding the good and beautiful parts of our traditional culture to the multiculturalism of Australia will give us the greatest opportunity for development.
Mr. Raymond Chow