Journal of Australia-China Affairs 2014

‘Bananas’: A PerspectiveLouisiana Wang This article was awarded the ACYA Journal Opinion Article Prize (Chinese). Louisiana Wang, from Shangyu in Zhejiang Province, was a member of the first batch of students eligible to be admitted directly from China’s rigorous university entrance examination (gaokao) into the University of Sydney. Siyu is currently studying at the University’s Business School. Louisiana is extremely passionate about media and law and has had considerable experience as an MC over the years. Louisiana was a liberal arts student back in high school with a strong interest in creative writing, especially fiction and poetry. Translated into English from the original Chinese by Callum Smith. Chinese civilization is one of over five thousand years of history, and feudal imperial rule. Australia is an easy-­‐going, leisurely and multicultural nation. It is migration and the proliferation of different ethnic groups that have allowed two unsuspecting cultures to collide and give birth to the concept of Chinese-­‐Australian hybrid culture – ‘the banana’. ‘Banana’ banteringly refers to those with ‘yellow skin and a white heart’ – the Australian descendants of Chinese migrants – otherwise known as ‘ABC’ (Australian-­‐Born Chinese). While not dissimilar to Chinese in appearance, they don’t recognize Chinese characters, nor is their Australian accent anything short of authentic. In light of my own intrigue with this growing demographic, I share here a few of my encounters with ABCs. S: A fashionable and candid girl S was the first ABC that I met in Australia. Fashionably dressed, outgoing, eloquent with words, highly competitive and a typical example of a high achieving ABC. In one of my group presentation groups, along with S there was another more reserved ABC, and a few of us Chinese students. It was evident that S possessed advantage not only in linguistic ability, but also in personality, continuing her ‘dominance’. Based on an analysis of our language ability, S would always allocate the easiest and shortest questions to us Chinese, and took the difficult ones herself. Despite our prolonged criticism of S, with the knowledge that our English proficiency could not compare to her, and that she wouldn’t understand our Chinese, we helplessly submitted. During that group presentation, I made a bold decision. While S paused to think for a few seconds, I shared my own explanation and understanding of the topic. As I was speaking, quite fluently at that, my eyes brushed over the expressions of my shocked group members, and S’s embarrassment, written all over her face. I thought our friendship was over. But, to my surprise, S actually took the initiative to speak to me afterwards, and later continued to greet me and chat on occasion. JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIA-CHINA AFFAIRS 133