Chinese Statecraft and Indigenous Affairs in Chinese Australian Newspapers, 1894–1912

Abstract

This article will explore how Chinese-language newspapers published in Australia between 1894 and 1912 engaged with Indigenous affairs, and in doing so, articulated Chinese perspectives on settler colonial governance. The rising racial hostility against the Chinese at that time rendered them sympathetic and empathetic towards the plight of Indigenous people. Chinese editors and journalists not only demonstrated that Indigenous affairs were intertwined with Chinese concerns, but also addressed the centrality of Indigenous matters in settler colonial governance, both ethically and administratively. By drawing on traditional Chinese principles and practice of statecraft, these newspapers attempted to remonstrate with the authorities about statecraft, benevolent governance, and political legitimacy.