On December 27 local time, Australian Ciara Morris wrote a commentary article in the Sydney Morning Herald about her experiences at home. With Mandarin language skills, she is currently pursuing a doctorate at Hong Kong City University, studying "the impact of nationalism on how the public perceives Australia-China relations."

Morris recently discussed the issues she was researching with professors, think tank researchers and government officials at the Australian National University in Canberra. Within just two seconds, someone accused her of being a "spy."

A senior political advisor at a dinner party first met Morris, and after learning that she was interested in China, openly questioned her national loyalty. Morris believes that regardless of whether it was a joke or not, these frequent remarks reflect a broader issue: excessive suspicion toward Australians with Chinese research capabilities.

"If you believe Australia needs 'Asia capability,' then you must also believe that the Australian government and broader workforce need Australians who have lived, studied and worked in Asia," said Morris. Not only herself, but this feeling may be even worse for Chinese-Australians, as these "jokes" also carry racial discrimination connotations.

In 2019, Morris (second from left) toured the Great Wall with classmates from Peking University. The Sydney Morning Herald

In 2019, after completing her undergraduate degree in Government and International Relations in Sydney, Morris traveled to Asia for the first time, coming to Beijing to pursue a master's degree to learn more about China.

One year later, when she returned to Australia, she encountered ASIO officials at her doorstep. They told Morris that given her experience in China, she was unlikely to pass "security clearance" and would not be able to work in the Australian government, "if you're smart, don't go back to China again."

Morris said unfortunately, such experiences are not rare. Nevertheless, she later decided to further her studies in China.

As an Australian, she believes one should understand this northern superpower. China is not only Australia's most important trading partner, but also has significant social significance for a multicultural country like Australia. Moreover, Morris personally has a strong interest in China itself.

However, Observers Net noticed that Morris, besides pursuing her doctorate in Hong Kong, has had multiple identities in the past. She served as a policy officer at the Australian independent think tank "China Matters," and has written commentaries on several media and think tank websites in recent years, but overall still analyzes Chinese issues from a Western perspective, which has certain limitations.

From these articles, it is indeed evident that she has some interest in Chinese issues. For example, in 2021, she wrote an article in the Sydney Morning Herald pointing out that although the Australian government hoped more students would master foreign language skills, especially Chinese, the previous government's series of wrong actions, such as "hitting the Confucius Institutes" under the Foreign Relations Act, undermined this goal. In the article, she also talked about her own experience of learning Chinese.

Morris introduced that currently, the House of Representatives Education Committee is leading an investigation into improving Australia's "Asia capability," which is a proposal of great importance.

The chairman of the committee, Tim Watts, said: "The future prosperity and security of Australia depend on our people's 'Asia capability' — the comprehensive ability of cultural understanding, language skills and regional experience needed to effectively work in Asia."

After co-writing the 2023 report by the Australian Academy of the Humanities on Australia's Chinese knowledge capability, Morris also helped the academy submit a submission to this investigation.

The submission stated: "Over the past 20 years, Australia's collective perception of Asia has developed without a coordinated strategy. Efforts to expand Asia literacy and capabilities have been scattered, and related measures have stagnated with changes in the political wind. There is an urgent need to update the discourse on the importance of Australia's Asia capability at the government level."

Over the past month, Morris attended two academic conferences, one in Shanghai and one in Melbourne, and she believes the participants were seasoned scholars with deep understanding of China.

She pointed out that Australia's "Asia capability" does exist, spread across universities and think tanks nationwide. However, this capability is fragmented, often unrecognized, and not fully utilized, failing to become a national strategic resource. Additionally, Australia has not actively cultivated, measured or developed this capability to meet growing future demands.

Currently, young researchers in Australia face difficulties in funding and employment, both inside and outside academia, so Australians with "Asia capability" are going overseas to seek jobs.

Morris believes that as a trading nation, Australia's prosperity depends entirely on its interaction with the world, especially with Asia. If Australians continue to make crude jokes about their students, accusing them of being "spies," they are destroying their own future.

She emphasized that national security is certainly crucial, but it should not be a culture of distrust towards people simply because they have lived abroad. Australia is a country of immigrants, and a collective perception of the world will only make us stronger, not weaker.

Morris finally said that every few years, the same voice emerges — we need more Australians who have received systematic Asia training. She called on Australia to support students so that they are willing to study Asian knowledge, and to value professionals with "Asia capability."

"As a nation, we need to make a decision to value these Australians. Of course, we will conduct background checks on all applicants for government positions, but we will not consider someone un-patriotic just because they are interested in other places," she wrote.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer, and may not be reprinted without permission.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7588803102556439078/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.