Contributors; Introduction; East Asian Perceptions of Australia; CHINA; 1. Who Cares What They Think? John Winston Howard, William Morris Hughes and the Pragmatic Vision of Australian National Sovereignty; 2. Before we came to this country, we heard that English laws were good and kind to everybody : Chinese Immigrants Views of Colonial Australia; 3. Australian Lovers: Chingchong Chinaman, Chinese Identity and Hybrid Confusion; 4. Haigui: A Keyword for 2003; JAPAN; 5. Murakami Haruki s Sydney Diary; 6. Tampa in Japan: East Asian Responses to Australia s Refugee Policy
Summary
Do Australians care about what their Asian neighbours think of them and does it matter if they don't? This collection of essays reveals that admiration for Australia is not widespread, particularly among Japanese and Chinese commentators. and how our Asian neighbours perceive Australia is important: perceptions have a powerful effect on the way different societies respond to one another. As part of the Asian accounts of Australia project, this volume addresses a much-neglected issue and presents the views of pre-eminent scholars on how Australia is perceived among Chinese and Japanese and what this means for our future. Can Australia make the most of its opportunities to be well regarded and influential in China and Japan or will we be dismissed as a derivative culture, ignorant about our region?
