Chinese Australian Forum

 Last week's violent train attack on Cityrail passengers travelling from Central to Rockdale has caused great alarm for Chinese Australians locally, and abroad.

International coverage has been considerable and the lack of strong repudiation from the NSW Government has been disappointing.

Parents who are overseas and are pumping considerable dollars into the Australian economy to get their kids a good education have reason to be alarmed for their children's welfare.

But what is most concerning for those of us locally, what raised my eyebrows and made me do a double take, was the quote attributed to another female passenger who was also being attacked who said, according to the SMH,

Rob them, they are Asian… they have got more money.

Read more: 2 May 2012 - Opinion - "Rob Them, they are Asian"

THE NSW opposition has condemned an alleged attack on Chinese students on a Sydney train, saying it was alarmed to hear claims it included a racist element.

The Opposition Leader, John Robertson, said he would meet the Chinese Australian Forum next week to discuss the attack and what could be done to prevent any recurrence. If you have any views that you would like conveyed to John Robertson please contact a CAF committee member.

This was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald here. 

 

 Congratulations to new CAF committee member Adrian Wong on being awarded Fairfield City Council's Youth Citizen of the Year. Adrian was awarded at a ceremony at Club Marconi, Fairfield. To read more click here.

The Chinese Australian Forum (CAF) is pleased to invite you to our Annual Dinner featuring Guest of Honour the Hon Julie Bishop MP, Deputy Leader of the Federal Opposition. Her keynote speech will be on Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean - supporting an arc of stability. Venue: Zilver Restaurant, Sydney Central Building, Level 1, 477 Pitt St (Cnr Hay St), Haymarket, Sydney
Time and Date: 7 pm, Saturday, 30 June 2012
Ticket per person: $70 or $60 for financial members or $55 for students & Commonwealth concession holders. Download the flyer here.

 Happy Australia Day from the Chinese Australian Forum!

One of CAF's well-regarded members Geoffrey Lee was recently interviewed by the Northern District Times on his family's story and his experiences building a new life in Australia. Mr Lee is now retired and gives motivational talks to school students about reading and find his way in the country we all share.  

You can read the full article here.

 Chinese Australian Forum's Kenrick Cheah recently wrote an article that was featured on well known radio personality Wendy Harmer's website The Hoopla.com.au. The article explained some of the traditions of Chinese New Year and aimed to provide an insight and introduction of our festivities to the readers of The Hoopla.

The article can be found here.   

Local newspapers have today reported that well known Asian-Australian neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo, will state that "racism is still alive in Australia" when he delivers his NSW Australia Day address.

The article can be found here.

Interesting article on CNN's InAmerica page that is worth a read. Two young Asian-American soldiers were apparently driven to take their own lives due to the bullying and "hazing" they received as members of the United States Armed Forces.

The article can be found here and is written by Jeff Yang as a CNN Special author.

 CAF President Tony Pang was appointed as a Commissioner to the Community Relations Commission by former Minister for Citizenship John Hatzistergos back in March of this year. Tony is the only current Commissioner of Chinese descent and his presence on the Board of the CRC gives the Chinese community a strong voice. The CRC has not had a Chinese committee member in quite some time.

The CRC has responsibility for promoting community harmony, participation and access to services in order that the contribution of cultural diversity to NSW is celebrated and recognised as an important social and economic resource. It recognises multiculturalism as a deliberate public policy and takes proactive steps to ensure a cohesive and harmonious society.

If you have any issues that you wish to raise and be brought to the attention of the CRC, you can contact Tony directly or via CAF in writing.

For more information on the CRC you can visit: http://www.crc.nsw.gov.au

The Chinese Australian Forum (CAF) recently lodged formal complaints with Radio 2SM and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) following radio celebrity John Laws’ on-air derogatory and racist comments about Chinese-Australians.

After coming out of retirement, John Laws on Radio 2SM’s The John Laws Show on 1 March 2011 said “And I hate to say it, it was a woman driver, and it was an Asian woman driver and she was from one lane to the other, I think she was putting on lippy or mascara or something, which is a bit of a waste of time if you’re Asian because you haven’t got too many eyebrows to put the mascara on... I remember my friend Ron Casey ... he was taken off the air from 2KY for a week because he said the problem with Asian drivers was they didn’t have any peripheral vision, and of course if you look at the shape of the eyes of Asian people he may well have a fact. I don’t know that it’s ever been proved, maybe we should ring an eye specialist and ask is that true."

Read more: 18 August 2011 - News - Racist radio comments made by John Laws