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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 49,511 (Taiwanese-born at 2021 census)[1] 55,960 (according to Taiwan govt. data)[2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Brisbane,Sydney,Melbourne,Perth,Adelaide | |
| Languages | |
| Australian English · Taiwanese Mandarin · Taiwanese Hokkien · Taiwanese Hakka · Varieties of Chinese · Formosan languages | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism · Christianity · Chinese folk religion · Irreligion · Taoism · Other | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Chinese Australians,Hong Kong Australians,Indonesian Australians,Japanese Australians,Taiwanese indigenous peoples |
Taiwanese Australians areAustralian citizens or permanent residents who carry full or partial ancestry from theEast Asian island country ofTaiwan or frompreceding Taiwanese regimes.
Taiwanese people can be divided into two main ethnic groups; theHan Taiwanese, who haveHan Chinese ancestry and constitute over 95% of the population, and theTaiwanese indigenous peoples, who haveAustronesian ancestry and constitute approximately 2% of the population.[3] The Han Taiwanese majority can be loosely subdivided into theHoklo (70%),Hakka (14%) and "Mainlanders (Waishengren)" (post-1949 Chinese immigrants) (14%).[4] Historically, the first known Taiwanese people in Australia arrived from theNetherlands East Indies (NEI) (historicalIndonesia) duringWorld War II (1939–1945), having been brought to the country by theexiled NEI government ascivilian internees in 1942;[5] at the time, Taiwan was part of theEmpire of Japan and Taiwanese people were consideredJapanese. Subsequently, Taiwanese massimmigration to Australia began during the 1970s as a result of the complete dismantlement of theWhite Australia Policy (1901–1973), which historically prevented Taiwanese people and other non-Europeans from permanently settling in the country.
Prior to 1942, it is unknown whether there were any Taiwanese people living in Australia.
Historically, Taiwanese Australians have had a significant presence inTatura andRushworth, two neighbouring countryside towns respectively located in the regions ofGreater Shepparton andCampaspe (Victoria), in the fertileGoulburn Valley.[6] DuringWorld War II,ethnic-Japanese (fromAustralia,Southeast Asia and thePacific) and ethnic-Taiwanese (from theNetherlands East Indies) wereinterned nearby to these towns as a result of anti-espionage/collaboration policies enforced by the Australian government (andWWII Allies in theAsia-Pacific region).[7] Roughly 600 Taiwanese civilians (entire families, including mothers, children and the elderly) were held at "Internment Camp No. 4", located in Rushworth but nominally labeled as being part of the "Tatura Internment Group", between January 1942 and March 1946.[8] Most of the Japanese and Taiwanese civilians were innocent and had been arrested forracist reasons(see the related article "Internment of Japanese Americans", an article detailing similar internment in America).[9] Several Japanese and Taiwanese people were born in the internment camp and receivedBritish (Australian)birth certificates from a nearby hospital. Several Japanese people who were born in the internment camp were named "Tatura" in honour of their families' wartime internment at Tatura. During wartime internment, many working age adults in the internment camp operated small businesses (including a sewing factory) and local schools within the internment camp.[8] Regarding languages, schools mainly taughtEnglish,Japanese,Mandarin and Taiwanese languages (Hokkien,Hakka,Formosan).Filipinos are purported to have also been held at the camp, alongsideKoreans,Manchus (possibly fromManchukuo),New Caledonians,New Hebrideans, people from theSouth Seas Mandate, people fromWestern New Guinea (and presumably alsoPapua New Guinea) andAboriginal Australians (who weremixed-Japanese).[10][11]
After the war, internees were resettled in their country of ethnic origin, rather than their country of nationality or residence, with the exception of Japanese Australians, who were generally allowed to remain in Australia. Non-Australian Japanese, who originated from Southeast Asia and the Pacific, were repatriated toOccupied Japan. On the other hand, Taiwanese, most of whom originated from the Netherlands East Indies, were repatriated toOccupied Taiwan. The repatriation of Taiwanese during March 1946 caused public outcry in Australia due to the allegedly poor living conditions aboard the repatriating ship "Yoizuki", in what became known as the "Yoizuki Hellship scandal". Post-WWII, the Australian government was eager to expel any Japanese internees who did not possess Australian citizenship, and this included the majority of Taiwanese internees as well. However, the Republic of China (ROC) was an ally of Australia, and since the ROC hadoccupied Taiwan during October 1945, many among the Australian public believed that the Taiwanese internees should be deemed citizens of the ROC, and, therefore, friends of Australia, not to be expelled from the country, or at least not in such allegedly appalling conditions. This debate concerning the citizenship of Taiwanese internees—whether they were Chinese or Japanese—further inflamed public outrage at their allegedly appalling treatment by the Australian government. Additionally, it was technically true that several "camp babies"—internees who had been born on Australian soil whilst their parents were interned—possessed Australian birth certificates, which made them legally British subjects. However, many of these camp babies were also deported from the country alongside their non-citizen parents. There was also a minor controversy regarding the destination of repatriation, with some of the less Japan-friendly Taiwanese fearing that they would be repatriated to Japan, though this was resolved when they learnt that they were being repatriated to Taiwan instead.
On January 5, 1993, a plaque was erected at the site of the internment camp at Tatura (Rushworth) to commemorate the memory of wartime internment. Forty-six Japanese and Taiwanese ex-internees, as well as a former (Australian) camp guard, are listed on the plaque.[12]
Starting from 1976, Australia began to consider the Taiwanese to be nationals of the ROC (Taiwan), making a distinction between them and themainland Chinese living in the PRC, but considering both people groups to be ethnic-Chinese.[13] TheWhite Australia Policy had been completely abolished by 1973, and so Taiwanese (and mainland Chinese) immigration to Australia had been gradually increasing since then.[14] The Australian Government specifically targeted Taiwanese nationals for immigration during the 1980s. Simultaneously, there was an influx of mainland Chinese immigration to Australia during the 1980s due to the PRC relaxing its immigration policies. The majority of Taiwanese immigrants to Australia during the 1970s and onward were highly skilledwhite-collar workers.[15]
On the southside of Brisbane, in suburbs likeSunnybank,Robertson andRuncorn, the Taiwanese community makes up a significant proportion of the ethnically Chinese community and has started to play a large role in the economy, politics and community of this area. Many Taiwanese food outlets can be found in Market Square and Sunny Park shopping centres and there is a rising willingness to identify as Taiwanese rather than Chinese. Local councillor for theMacGregor Ward which includes Sunnybank, Steven Huang is Taiwanese background. In the2020 Queensland state election,Liberal National Party candidate forStretton Peter Zhuang appealed to Chinese voters that they should vote for him because of his ethnic background. He was identified as a "Pro-Beijing" candidate and faced repeated controversy and protests by the Taiwanese and Hong Kong communities. This is an example of the rising tension that exists between the Taiwanese andMainlander community. In 2010,The Epoch Times, a Chinese language newspaper read widely by the Taiwanese community was targeted in a drive-by shooting in Sunnybank.[16]
The current total population of Taiwanese Australians is unknown, with only 1st-generation and 2nd-generation Taiwanese being counted in the Australian Census as Taiwanese, and with 3rd-generation Taiwanese or older families being counted as just "Australian". It is difficult to track as most Taiwanese identify their ancestry as simply "Chinese" on the census. Despite this, 26,345 people recorded their ancestry as "Taiwanese" in the 2021 census. The current number of 1st/2nd-generation Taiwanese Australians is roughly 45,000–55,000 people. It is estimated that roughly 95%–90% of Taiwanese Australians are 1st/2nd-generation Australians.[17]
In Australia,Australian English is thede facto national language and mostimmigrants to Australia are expected to beproficient in the language. Unlike in theUnited States, for example, there aren't many large non-Anglophoneethnic enclaves in Australia, sinceAustralian history has been heavily dominated byBritish colonialism.Multiculturalism in Australia is a fairly recent phenomenon that was intentionally encouraged by successiveAustralian governments as part of the country's rapidly changingforeign policy andethnic policy following the conclusion ofWorld War II (1939–1945).
Taiwanese immigrants to Australia can usually speak their nativeTaiwanese languages, includingTaiwanese Mandarin,Taiwanese Hokkien,Taiwanese Hakka, and various other Taiwanese languages (such as theTaiwanese indigenous languages). However, proficiency in these languages typically already drops by thesecond generation, i.e. the first generation born in Australia. Depending on whichsocial class and/orethnic group the Taiwanese immigrant parents originate from, their children may only remain proficient in one of these languages. Typically, proficiency in Mandarin is usually retained by the second generation, whereas proficiency in Hokkien and Hakka drops significantly unless the parents place a particular emphasis on retaining proficiency in these languages. Internationally and in Australia, Mandarin is far more useful for travelling and business than other Taiwanese languages, which may result in parents prioritising Mandarin. By the third and fourth generations, proficiency in even Mandarin is usually lost entirely, unless the family has been residing in a Chinese or Taiwanese ethnic enclave in Australia for several decades. Such enclaves do exist, and they are usually known as "Chinatowns". Chinese enclaves in Australia are quite large and numerous but Taiwanese enclaves aren't. In Brisbane which contains the highest proportion of Taiwanese immigrants, there is a Taipei shopping centre which promotes the use of Taiwanese Hokkien.
According to the 2021 Australian census, approximately 85.7% of the Taiwanese community speak Mandarin as their primary non-English language at home, whereas approximately 4.3% speak Hokkien and 0.9% Cantonese. Approximately 73.7% of those who speak alanguage other than English at home also speak English (i.e. theyspeak multiple languages). Approximately 7.5% speak only or primarily English at home.[13]
The Taiwanese community in Australia is relatively minor and is often not distinguished from theChinese community in Australia.Brisbane (QLD) hosts the largest Taiwanese community in Australia.Sydney (NSW) andMelbourne (VIC) also host significant Taiwanese communities. Typically, Taiwanese people immigrating to Australia prefer to settle inmajor cities.
| State | Population | Percentage of Taiwanese born community |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland | 16,600 | 33.5% |
| New South Wales | 14,544 | 29.4% |
| Victoria | 10,719 | 21.7% |
| Western Australia | 4,008 | 8.1% |
While Taiwan may be described as a predominantly Han Chinese society, with more than 95 percent of the population claiming Han ancestry, its heritage is actually much more complex... There is growing appreciation in Taiwan for the cultural legacies of the 16 officially recognized Austronesian-speaking tribes, which constitute a little more than 2 percent of the population.
Taiwan has many ethnic groups with the largest group being the Hoklo Han Chinese with about 70% of the total population followed by the Hakka Han Chinese who make up about 14% of the total population...The mainland Chinese are a group of people who migrated to Taiwan in the 1940s from mainland China after Kuomintang lost the Chinese civil war in 1949... The mainlanders make up 14% of the population due to immigration.
While numerous books, films and photographs have explored the internment of Japanese civilians in the United States and Canada, the situation in Australia has had limited coverage... Of the 4301 Japanese civilians interned in Australia, only a quarter had been living in Australia when hostilities began, with many employed in the pearl diving industry... The remaining three-quarters had been arrested in Allied-controlled countries such as theDutch East Indies... They includedethnic Formosans (Taiwanese) and Koreans.
| Central Asia |  | |
|---|---|---|
| East Asia | ||
| South Asia | ||
| Southeast Asia | ||
| History | ||
| Topics | ||
