Racism towards Asians would have increased during the pandemic. (Represenattaional)
Sydney, Australia:
Australian authorities and major universities on Wednesday rejected China’s claims that students should be “cautious” in choosing to study Down Under because of concerns over racist incidents during the coronavirus pandemic.
China’s education ministry warned students on Tuesday that there had been “multiple discriminatory incidents against Asians in Australia” during the pandemic, which increased diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
The announcement was the latest in an escalating dispute between Beijing and Canberra which was exacerbated by Australia’s call for an independent investigation into the origin and management of the coronavirus in central China’s last year.
Beijing reacted furiously to the demand, targeting Canberra on several fronts, including tourism, commerce and now Chinese students, the largest foreign group in Australian universities.
Australian Minister of Education Dan Tehan responded on Wednesday, saying the country is a multicultural society that welcomes international visitors.
“Our success in flattening the curve means that we are one of the safest countries in the world for international students to be based in at the moment,” he said in a statement.
“We reject China’s claim that Australia is a dangerous destination for international students.”
Racism toward Asians is said to have increased during the pandemic, the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Commission said the cases included people being bullied for wearing a face mask, spitting and harassing in public, and racist comments written on cars and private property.
Vicki Thomson, chief executive of the prestigious Australian group of eight universities, told AFP that she would be “very concerned” if Beijing’s warning deterred students from coming to Australia.
“We have not received any evidence that there are problems of racial discrimination on our campuses, and I think it should be noted that we do not have many students on our campuses at the moment”, a- she declared.
Thomson deplored that the sector was “caught in the middle” of geopolitical tensions.
Australian universities are already facing massive losses, as an indefinite border closure with a coronavirus is blocking foreign students who inject billions of dollars a year into the sector.
Advice to travelers from Beijing was largely symbolic but could interfere with a proposal to create a “secure corridor” for foreign students to return to Australia.
Education is Australia’s fourth largest export – behind iron ore, coal and natural gas – with more than 500,000 international students enrolled last year, which represents about A $ 37 billion in the economy .
China’s statement came a day after a Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned of “a lot of discrimination” against Chinese people in Australia – and a few days after Beijing told citizens not to go there at all.
As China pursues a more combative foreign policy and seeks to assert itself on the world stage, tensions with many democracies have increased.
In response to Australia, which called for an independent investigation into the viruses, the Chinese ambassador to Canberra threatened to boycott Australian consumers widely – a warning followed by a ban on four major Australian beef exporters.
This was followed in May by an 80 percent tariff on Australian barley on dumping allegations, a decision by grain producers will cost at least 500 million Australian dollars (350 million US dollars) per year.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
