"Chinese looking" people in Melbourne. Every where you turn you will see them!

Chinese New Year in Melbourne

Sometimes when I walk the streets of Melbourne I cannot help but feel that Malays of the Umno genre would feel intimidated, if not overwhelmed, by the number of "Chinese looking" people that can be seen on the streets of this city. They are to the left of you and to the right of you. They are all around you in the tram. Some quietly sitting and watching the world go by. Some loudly talking to each other even if they are within kissing distance of each other. Occasionally you will see them suited, looking important and in the company of Australians moving from one meeting to another in the city. Anyway you turn you will see them.

I say "Chinese looking" because they can be from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam or even Malaysia - though the one from Malaysian you can know the moment they open their mouth to speak. And there are others from parts unknown...but there is no mistaking the fact that in one way or another, they can trace back their ancestors to tongsan.

When the tram you are riding in has 18 "Chinese looking" commuters, a black Sudanese looking guy, the "Australian looking" Tram driver and a Malay (that's me!) in the first carriage...you do start wondering how come there are so many of these "Chinese looking" people in Melbourne? 

That is probably because the Australian government allowed them in!

What has these "Chinese looking" people done to Australia? From what I can see...nothing but good! They are vibrant, lively and hard working people whose work ethics are a source of amazement to other fellow Australians. Where I now live the two main streets are dotted with shops run by "Chinese looking" people. Even a Malaysian restaurant call Masak Masak is run by them - the same with the other Malaysian restaurant "Blue Chilies". There are "Chinese looking" employees in the supermarkets, a "Chinese looking" owner of a cake shop just 50 yards from where I stay.....and plenty more. 

Are they a threat to me and to other Australians? 

How can they be? Nothing that they do intrude into my space, my personal life or my world. What they do only enhance it. I know I can get fried kueh teow for under $10 a plate during lunch just two minutes walk away from where I live. The "Chinese looking" owners of a cake shop nearby will discount his cakes after 4 p.m. and the "Chinese looking" cashier at Woolworth always politely call me Uncle whenever she rings up my groceries.

The apartment block I live in have many "Chinese looking" tenants - most of them older than me. Some of them talk in what sounds like Chinese to me and I response with a smile and a nod of the head to anything they ask me. If my wife is with me they will clasp her hand and wish her well....all in Chinese of course...but we understand. The only "Chinese looking" family that I know with a car drives a Jaguar - the 2000 S Type. Where he gets the money to buy a Jaguar is a question I would like to ask him....but it really is none of my business. He is not the friendly type and the only greeting we have exchange when we meet at the lift is a silent acknowledgement of each others presence - just a slight nod of the head. It puzzles me how someone able to afford a Jaguar would want to stay in an "affordable" apartment reserved for low income earners...but then I remember the cars that the "Chinese looking" people drive even when they are staying in the crowded housing estates near Jinjang - plenty of Mercedes there!   

I have not made any "Chinese looking" friends in Melbourne. In case you think me a racist - neither have I made any "Malay" or "Indian looking" friends in the two years I have lived here. In fact it would be true to say that I have not made any friends at all in the time I have been in Melbourne. That is just me being me - I do not like to make friends.

To all you "Chinese looking" people out there....thanks for making my world a better world, and my life more interesting. You never seek to impose your language, your culture, your religion or your way of life upon me....though those dragon dances during the Chinese New Year are a bit noisy and over the top.....but I can stay away from them if I want to - so no problems there.