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This paper considers the racialization of Asians in Australia through the dialectic of the “yellow peril” and “model minority”. It uses the specific historical case study of People’s Republic of China nationals in Australia at the time of the Tiananmen Square massacre (1989) who were ultimately given permanent residence. Through analysis of archival sources and Australia’s print media in this period (1989–1993), the article identifies how the Tiananmen Chinese were at once characterized as educated, hard-working and worthy additions to the Australian nation (model minority), while also appearing as a threat to the order and integrity of the immigration system (yellow peril). The article draws on Asian American theorist Colleen Lye’s argument about the economistic character of Asian racial form. By using her framework, I suggest the value of deepening engagements with Asian American studies in examining the racialization of Asians in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the settlement of Anglo-Saxon-Celtic immigrants in Australia in 1788 by Great Britain, the Australia Colony was formed. The discovery of gold mine in Australia in 1850s had irreversibly changed the economic, social and political dynamics of the island/continent. During the process named as the Gold Rush, the influx of Chinese immigrants to Australia to find job and Japan's completion of economic and military modernization determined Australia's foreign policy in Asia- Pacific. The threat perception shaped around the basic argument that Japan would emerge as a power in Asia-Pacific and that Australia would be invaded by Asian societies, which had been named as the Yellow Peril. In this study, Australia's foreign policy from 1850 to 1914 on Asia-Pacific, in particular Asia, is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]