-
Chapter 4: Cultural Citizenship in Diaspora: A Study of Chinese Australia
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
4 Cultural Citizenship in Diaspora: A Study of Chinese Australia Wenche Ommundsen Ihav em ypassport ,an dn odoubtsoo nI shallhav em yidentit ycard .I havedonejuryservice.Iamsentmyvotingcardatelectiontime,andmy taxdemandonc eayear.Theserightsandobligationsconfirmm ystatu s asa membe ro fth estate .Whatmor ed oI wantt oknow ?What' sth e problem? Theproblem,ofcourse,isthatthislegalstatusascitizendoesnotfeelas thoughi thasanythingmuchtodowithm ysenseofself.Ittellsmewhat Iam ,no twh oI am.(Jame sDonald ,"Th eCitize nan dth eMa nAbou t Town") Mydea ri nthebeginnin gtherewastheWord!Andther ewasme .An d theWordwa sCHINAMAN.Andtherewasm e.. .IlivedtheWord!The Wordi sm yheritag e.. .I a mth enatura lbor nragmout hspeakin gth e motherlessblood ytongue .N orea llanguag eo fm yow nt omak esens e with,s ooutcome severybod yelse' strashthatdon' tconceive... .Born ? No!Crashed !No tborn .Stamped!Notborn !Created!.. .N omor ebor n thannylonoracrylic.ForIamaChinaman!Amiraclesynthetic!Dripdry andmachinewashable.(FrankChin,The GhickencoopChinaman) 78Wenche Ommundsen The two volumes of Eric Rolls's history of the Chinese in Australia are entitled Sojourners and Citizens (Rolls 1992 and 1996). The first volume concludes i n 1888 , the year th e Anti-Chinese Leagu e forced a n almos t total ba n o n Chines e immigratio n an d fou r ship s carryin g Chines e immigrants wer e refuse d entr y t o Sydney. "Th e da y o f th e sojourner s was almost over/' writes Rolls, "the aim of the Chinese in Australia fro m 1888 on was t o become whatever citizen s society would allow " (Roll s 1992: 508). His sojourner/citize n distinctio n i s potentially misleading , however. Measures to restrict Chinese immigration ha d been enforce d by th e Australia n colonie s fro m th e ver y beginnin g o f Europea n settlement, and particularly in the wake of the massive influx of Chinese during the 1850 s gold rush. At the same time, it was possible for som e early Chinese settlers to become citizens of the British colonies, whereas access to citizenship was virtually barred during the period of the White Australia policy , which remaine d i n place from 190 1 until 1973. 1 What sort o f citize n di d nineteenth-centur y Australi a allo w a Chines e t o become, ho w di d th e diminishin g number s o f Chines e i n Australi a negotiate citizenshi p a t a tim e o f legislate d discriminatio n i n th e firs t half o f th e twentiet h century , an d wha t i s th e positio n o f Chinese Australians today, after thirt y years of color-blind immigration policie s but i n a climat e o f socia l disquie t ove r level s of Asian immigration , a climate in which boatloads of nonwhite immigrants are once again being turned awa y fro m Australia n waters? 2 I n orde r t o teas e ou t th e implications of some of these questions, this chapter examines the concept of cultural citizenship, asking what sort of fit, if any, between the "what " of citizenship and the "who" of identity is conceivable, achievable, an d desirable in a world o f complex cultural allegiances. Mei Quon g Tart , who cam e t o Australia fro m Canto n a s a youn g boy durin g th e gol d rus h i n th e 1850s , ros e t o prominenc e a s a businessman an d spokesma n fo r hi s community . H e becam e a n Australian citizen in 1871, and his standing...