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Hi new followers! I'm guessing most of you are here because of @abc730 so here's a thread of my work on Chinese Australians and the China-Australia relationship - though I also write about the arts, queer & trans politics, history, sex and TV. I was a poet before I was a journo.
I wrote this last year for @smh on how legitimate fears about Chinese govt interference often turn into racist exclusion of Chinese Australians. https://www.smh.com.au/national/call-out-china-s-meddling-but-the-yellow-peril-alarm-at-chinese-influence-is-racist-20190913-p52r0e.html
The idea that Chineseness is incompatible with equality has a long history in Australia. It's part of why white unions excluded Chinese workers. Here's an essay I wrote about that history: http://rightnow.org.au/essay/things-and-their-makers-from-european-labour-only-to-ethical-consumerism/
Chinese Australians are also a big part of #Underfoot3011, a multimedia project I produced with @AsFarce that looks at the hidden histories of Footscray. Podcasts, transcripts, maps and photos here: https://jinghuaqian.com/underfoot/
Whizzing quickly to the present day, here's an explainer I wrote on how greeting Chinese Australians with "ni hao" is a microaggression. https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/whats-wrong-with-saying-ni-hao_au_5ee6bdd0c5b6003954d4dd70
Racism has shaped my life in Australia. Growing racism and ethnonationalism in China alarms me too. Here's a letter I wrote to the diaspora on the 30th anniversary of Tiananmen: https://dearchinesediaspora.wordpress.com/
Swerve to some queerer stuff! For @SBSVoices, I wrote a guide on coming out to migrant parents. Obviously step zero is that you don't have to come out at all. It's potentially helpful for other tricky conversations too though. https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/sexuality/agenda/article/2019/04/15/how-come-out-your-migrant-parents
This is one of my favourite pieces that I wrote last year - a chewy essay on Chinese transmasculinity for @popula https://popula.com/2019/03/27/the-t-on-chinese-transmasculinity/
I also wrote this article for Popula on dealing with Chinese immigration as a returnee. (Please don't ask me for visa advice! I don't know what's changed since I went through this.) https://popula.com/2018/12/03/how-to-get-a-five-year-residency-permit-if-youre-sort-of-chinese-ish/
Another diaspora/returnee piece: I wrote this about Chinese names. My English name is Jinghua Qian so why can't Angelababy be a Chinese name? http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1019/call-me-angelababy-maybe
Last year I had the pleasure of meeting @thefarewell writer/director @thumbelulu and I wrote this for SBS on death, truth and the diaspora https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/voices/culture/article/2019/08/30/farewell-will-break-your-heart-best-way
More audio! Here's a four-part multilingual series I produced with the @QueeringTheAir team on queer heritage in Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic and Indian communities in Australia. https://www.3cr.org.au/wewerentbornyesterday
A loosely defined playlist I made https://peril.com.au/topics/music/playlist-music-of-the-sinosphere/
Alright I could go on forever because most of my work deals with Chinese Australian life, culture and history in some way. But this thread is probably long enough. You can find more on my website below - thanks for following! https://jinghuaqian.com/read
