Why the Ukraine-Russia war is dividing the Australian Chinese community – ABC News

After a recent discussion on the Ukraine-Russia war became heated and even "abusive" in herWhatsApp group for church members, Susie Su was forced to put a ban on the topic.

The 69-year-oldTaiwanese Australian, who helps to manage the social media group comprising some 50 Chinese Christiansin New South Wales, said shewanted to maintain peace after realising the debate was dividingher community.

With members hailing from mainland China, Malaysia and Hong Kong, the community always had robust conversations but it was the first time she had to intervene since the group was created two years ago.

Ms Su said that last month, a minister from a churchwas accused of advocating pro-Russia views after he saidUkrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy should surrender to Russia to protect civilians in the war-torn country.

Many Ukraine supporters in the chatroom argued that Russia's invasion had caused the deaths of those civilians.

"Invasion is wrong. Our group has church members who come fromChina. They believe China should not defend Russia," she said.

"I believe as Christianwe should be against the invasion, and pursue democracy and freedom."

But when the church minister was verbally abused by another member, Ms Su halted the discussion.

Ms Su said she found many people who were expressing pro-Russia viewshad been influenced by articles on Chinese social media, and some echoed language from Beijing.

China hasattempted to castitself as a neutral party and refused to condemn Russia's action or call it an invasion.

Last month,Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian blamedNATO for pushing Russia-Ukraine tensions to "breaking point", while Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Le Yuchengsaid the root cause of the crisis layin the Cold War mentality of the West.

Ms Su said she hada lot of sympathy for Ukrainians and she believed China shouldsupport Ukraine as much as possible without directlyintervening in the war.

As Russia's invasion has continued, the ABC has witnessed heated discussions on several Chinese social media platforms that are popular among Chinese-speaking communities in Australia.

Several Chinese Australians have told the ABC theyfeel frustrated seeingfriends, colleagues and even family members arguing about the war on social media.

Yang Han, a Sydney-based former Chinese diplomat and political commentator, was shocked when he saw pro-Russia comments piling upin a WeChat group where hundreds of Chinese Australians shared information about the pandemic.

Since the war broke out in February, the chatroom has instead been dominated by Chinese news articles and discussions about the war.

"It gives me a unique look at how [some other Chinese people] view the war in Ukraine," Mr Yang said.

He said he decided to translate some of the pro-Russiacomments and articles shared in the WeChat group into English and postthem on his Twitter account to highlight how some of the propaganda from Beijing was influencing Chinese Australian migrants.

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After a member from the WeChat room discovered the translations, he was removed from the group and then singled out by China'sstate-run media.

China's nationalist tabloid Global Times accused Mr Yang of being a paid agent of anti-China organisations with a goal of plotting a "colour revolution".

Mr Yang rejected the claim and said he was concerned China's censorship might influence the Australian community.

"The group members are Australians," he said, adding their opinions could affect politics in Australia.

Mr Yang saidthe Chinese state media articles werefuelling frustration during discussions amongfamily and friends.

Some Australians of Chinese descent told the ABC that polarised views on the war hadoften led to unpleasant conversations between husbands and wives, parents and children, and colleagues at work.

Mr Yang said his relatives in China avoided talking about the Ukraine war with him on WeChat because it was a sensitive topic that could damage their relationship.

"They know what they can and can't say otherwise, we may have a fight on WeChat," he said.

David Goodman, director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said Chinese-speakingcommunities had different values and backgrounds.

He said supporting Russia was "a logical nationalist position in China", given that Beijing declared in Februaryits partnership with Moscow had "no limits" and"the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

"The prime conflict [portrayed by the media] would seem to be China versus the anglophone world the key alliance of the US, Australia and the UK," Professor Goodman said.

Feng Chongyi, an associateprofessor in Chinese studiesat the University of Technology Sydney anda democracy activist, said the views withinChinese-speaking communities in Australia were very diverse because people had different ideologies.

He said some Chinese Australians with pro-Russian views could also be influenced by anti-America propaganda and censorship ofanti-Russia content on popular social media platforms.

Earlier this year, Jin Xing, China's first openly transgender dancer, who has more than 13 million fans on China's Twitter-like social media platform Weibo, called the Russian President "a crazy man". Soon after, her post was deletedand her account was suspended.

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Why the Ukraine-Russia war is dividing the Australian Chinese community - ABC News