ABSTRACT
The surge of alarmist public policy discourse from 2017 quickly put pressure on Chinese-Australian communities. The regular appearance of anti-Chinese slogans in public underscored the risk of overheated public discourse fanning anti-Chinese nationalism in the community, and a 2020 survey of Chinese-Australians found nearly 20% reported being ‘physically threatened or attacked’ over their background in the preceding 12 months. Australia offers an example of public policy responses based on the aggregation approach that addresses this array of issues primarily as a matter of national security. However, as this chapter argues, Australia's experience also illustrates major drawbacks to the aggregation-based approach. On close inspection, Australia's response has left some of the most impactful PRC activities unaddressed, and it remains unclear if the legislated expansions in the power of national security agencies have warranted the associated diminishments in civil liberties. The following chapter turns to how the risks of both inaction and reaction can be managed.
