As Australians prepare to fill out the national census, a growing segment of the country’s multicultural population is expressing frustration over how their heritage is classified. For residents like Kevin Yam, a former lawyer and pro-democracy activist who relocated to Australia due to political turmoil, the census is an opportunity to officially declare his "Hongkonger" identity. However, under current national database guidelines, his ancestry will not be recorded as such.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), "Hong Kong" is not recognized as a standalone ancestry category within the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG). Instead, any resident who writes "Hongkonger" on their form will automatically have their response coded as "Chinese." While the ABS maintains that other questions—such as country of birth, parental birthplace, and language spoken at home—help capture cultural diversity, community members argue this is a major step backward for accurate representation.

A Fight for Recognition

The decision to bundle Hong Kong heritage under a broader Chinese umbrella has sparked deep disappointment among local advocacy groups. Jane Poon, president of the Australia-Hong Kong Link, has been campaigning for a separate category for over five years. As a third-generation Hongkonger, she stresses that the distinction is vital.

"We treasure our own identities and hope that others, including the government, recognize and acknowledge who we are—rather than just imposing an identity over us," Poon said, pointing out that those born outside of Hong Kong who still hold deep cultural roots to the region have no way of expressing it on the form.

More Than a Birthplace

While Hong Kong is legally part of China under the "one country, two systems" framework, its history has fostered a unique cultural evolution. Shaped by more than 150 years of British administration, Hongkongers grew up under a vastly different political, educational, and legal system than those in mainland China. Linguistically, the distinction is also stark: the territory predominantly uses Cantonese rather than Mandarin, and traditional Chinese characters instead of the simplified script used on the mainland.

Former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui, who was granted asylum in Australia last year, emphasizes that the urge to assert this identity has intensified since the mass pro-democracy protests of 2019. Hui, who is wanted by Hong Kong authorities under the extraterritorial National Security Law, warns that erasing this distinction in demographic data plays into Beijing's political narrative.

"The more oppressed we are, the more we feel the need to maintain that identity so that it doesn't disappear," Hui said. "Otherwise, the unique culture we have will just vanish. It is inappropriate and unfair to shift our responses into the Chinese ancestry category."

Wider Concerns Across Communities

The pushback is not unique to Hongkongers. Other diaspora communities in Australia are similarly urging their members to ensure they are accurately represented on the census. Ramila Chanisheff, representing the local Uyghur community, has urged respondents to specifically write "Uyghur" rather than "Chinese," particularly following the introduction of restrictive cultural laws in China.

"The census needs to pick up how many Uyghurs live in Australia so we can be protected and understood," Chanisheff said. Similarly, representatives from the Tibetan and Taiwanese communities are actively campaigning for their members to write in their specific heritages to ensure their community needs are recognized in future policy decisions.

A Shifting Standard

The classification system used by the government is updated periodically, but omissions remain. While groups like the Uyghurs, Tibetans, and certain ethnic minorities from Myanmar are recognized, others are not. Recent updates did, however, introduce new categories such as Israeli and Edo, while allowing respondents to list up to four ancestries instead of two.

Interestingly, the "country of birth" section on the census does not list China as a tick-box option, despite it being the third most common country of birth in the previous census. According to officials, this omission is intentional, designed to force respondents to write in specific locations such as China, Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan, which are then tracked separately.

With participation in the census being compulsory—and carrying a hefty daily fine of $364 for non-completion—community leaders are also raising concerns about the lack of non-English forms. While telephone interpretation services are available, advocates worry that the English-only format may lead to translation issues and skewed data for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.