I have often been told that the number of Cantonese speakers coming to Australia is decreasing, whereas Mandarin speakers are constantly on the rise. This seems to be supported by the languages spoken at home as well.

So I was a little bit surprised when I looked up the stats for this and realised that the number of Mandarin speakers coming to Australia have also started to decrease. The graph below is for the South, but the stats for NSW is similar (click on the image for a larger version):


This graph is a good reflection of the history of Chinese migration to Australia and some of the events behind it:

• Prior to 1973, Chinese migration was very difficult under the White Australia Policy, which came about largely as a reaction to the many Chinese who came to Victoria during the Victoria Gold Rush in the 1850s and 60s.
• Under Gough Whitlam, the White Australia Policy was abolished in 1973, followed by a series of laws and acts in the 70s and 80s which slowly opened the doors of immigration to Australia.
• I'm not sure of the reason behind the sharp increase of Chinese migrants in 1987. Perhaps it's to do with the stock market crash known as Black Monday.
• Chinese migration reached its peak in 1989 as a result of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. For the first time there were more Mandarin speakers coming to South Sydney than Cantonese speakers, partly because the Australian government under Bob Hawke granted Chinese students a four year amnesty to stay in Australia.
• Over the next few years, Chinese migration went back to pre-1987 levels (with a slight increase). But the year before the Hong Kong handover, a number of Cantonese speakers people made a last minute dash to come to Australia.
• In the meantime, migration among Mandarin speakers begins to increase dramatically from 1995 onwards. Many of these are students from China coming over to study. I found an interesting research paper done back in 2004 on the history of Chinese students studying overseas and why Australia has become such a popular choice in the last 15 years.
• I don't have the stats for 2007-2010 (yet), so it's hard to say whether the migration of Mandarin speakers is declining or whether 2006 was just a particularly bad year. This article says that Chinese people coming to study in Australian university is definitely dropping.

I don't know much about history and politics, so if anyone can shed more light on the reasons behind these migration patterns please leave a comment below.

From the pie chart on the right, we can see that those coming from China and Hong Kong make up 80% of the Chinese population in the South. The rest are the 2^nd generation Australian Born Chinese (ABCs). About 2% of these ABCs have one or both parents who were born in Australia, meaning they are 3^rd generation (or more) ABCs.

What this means for gospel work is not only the need for Cantonese and Mandarin ministries, but also the need to understand the background, mindset and culture of Chinese migrants and their children (which I might write about at another time).

Give thanks that the changes in immigration/migration policy in Australia that has allowed many Chinese people to come to Australia, to a place where there are more open opportunities to hear the gospel. Pray that Christians will be sensitive to their needs and know how to best reach out to them.