Oz - part of Asia or not ?

[Ninja]

Funny topic this, but I can see where it's coming from.

As an Asian-Australian who's lived more years in Oz than where I was born, I certainly think Australia is part of Asia.

In a geographic sense, there is no dispute whatsoever.

I think the kerfuffle has more to do with the socio-cultural make-up of Australian society vs. its northern neighbours. But even then, I believe people need to wake up and start taking a broader view of this issue.

So what if Australia is perceived as more "white" than "brown", and therefore not "Asian"?? Japanese are widely not regarded as Asian but exclusively Japanese because of their racial homogeneity.  Yet, they are still considered more "Asian" in a racial context than Australians. What would happen if Australia's next PM happened to have some Asian blood in his/her heritage? Would that change anything or even matter?

This issue of race is becoming more quaint by the day as we see more and more inter-mingling of peoples through marriage etc.

The nonsense spouted by Dr Mahathir says more about his anachronistic views on most things than anything else. By the way, what the hell does he care anyway since he is no longer in the top job; did he not get the press release that he's now a private citizen and should stop embarrassing Badawi and the general Malaysian public?

It may interest some of my esteemed contributors to this forum that there have been many distinguished Australians of Asian descent in the recent past. I can recall a former Australian of the Year, and two Young Australians of the Year. The outpouring of national grief some years ago when a prominent Sydney heart surgeon was murdered, Dr Victor Chang, is a case in point.

Take a closer look and you will find many members of the upper echelons of the professions in Oz being rather "Asian". There are equally many others in less-prominent positions in society going about their business in typically quiet fashion, yet no less honourable.

For those of you who continue to bash Australia for being "anti-Asian" etc, open your eyes and take a closer look at today's Australia. You will be surprised at how Asia-savvy most Australians are these days. And the good news is... watch the younger generation of Aussies now in high school and about to graduate from uni. These are kids who'd fit in quite comfortably anywhere in the Far East because they are very exposed to Asia through various means eg. exchange programs, travel, music, internet, culture and language.

By the way, nobody paid me to say these things :-)

I'm just a proud Aussie who happens to be a darker shade of pale. If you want to find a racist or be a victim of racism, you will find it. That happens anywhere, even in "Asia".

[E.R.N]

This is not something I'd given much thought, yet there seems some confusion out there. Last night I caught a segment of Miss World and each team, Asia, Northern Europe etc had to complete physical challenges. Asia did pretty well thanks to Aus and NZ ladies. So, if you stick to that definition being valid, then it's just as well for some countries that
Australia are not present in the S.E.A games!

[Joseph27]

Ninja is right - Dr Mahathir's words were hollow and representative of his own bias.   Every day i seem to read some statement by Mahathir in the paper talking about some topic - sure Malaysia did well under his leadership but if you look closely at Malaysia you will very well see that the companies that made Malaysia prosper were Chinese or Indian run.    

Take a look at any company run exclusively by Malays and you will see massive underlying problems - MAS / Proton / Tenaga National -  3 companies massively subsidized by the government.  The problems in Malaysia wont really be discussed until the 700,000 barrells of oil run out -  about 6 years from now.  Then we shall see a different Malaysia

Anyway - as for Aus being part of Asia - I stick to my earlier comments.  

[charlieb]

I am quite sure given a choice, Australia wouldn't want to be part of Asia. Problem is there doesn't seem to be a choice.

[Ninja]

I think that given a choice, Australia would be daft to NOT want to be a part of Asia.

Consider Turkey: given a choice, would they wish to be part of Islamic Middle East instead of Europe on the basis of religion and heritage alone? Ataturk was rather forward-thinking when he realised what had to happen to Turkish society all those years ago, and they have been fighting hard for many years to gain a seat at the EU table.

Our geographic location and increasing integration with our physical neighbourhood is not so much a question of "no choice"; it comes down to practicalities and where it's easier to make a living for ourselves and our generations to come.

Can I just be mischievous and suggest that if the UK had a choice of supporting us in the EU (since we are part of the Commonwealth and share a long cultural heritage, right?) or protecting their own interests, which would they choose do you think?

Australia has to stop looking elsewhere to help it get ahead in this world. We are big and ugly enough methinks to be a significant player in the Asia-Pacific at the very least... China thinks so and so does Japan by the way; both of whom are no economic has-beens by any stretch of the imagination.

We have plenty to feel good about in the coming years if we simply let go of past cultural paradigms (ie. the infamous cultural cringe) and embrace the future by looking closer to home.