Key Points
- A lighting colour change in Melbourne’s Chinatown to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III has sparked controversy.
- Business owners and workers in Chinatown are divided over the area's support for the monarchy on the basis of Australia being a Commonwealth country.
- Researchers say the controversy reflects the diversity of public perceptions and shifting attitudes about Australia's post-colonial legacy.
The colour of the decorative lighting over Chinatown in Melbourne has been changed from red to gold until June 18 to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III, according to Eng Lim JP, the Vice President of the Chinatown Precinct Association.
However, some vendors and visitors have queried the move to express allegiance to the newly crowned British King.
This is not the first time that the Chinatown Precinct Association has changed the lighting in honour of the British Monarchy. The lights turned purple to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last year.
“The monarchy has done a lot for Melbourne,” said the Chinatown Precinct Association in a media release.
The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York visited Melbourne for the opening of the Commonwealth Parliament in 1901. Supplied: Chinatown Precinct Association.
“(In 1956) Crowds lined Swanston and (Little) Bourke Streets, straining for a view of the Duke of Edinburgh’s motorcade,” they wrote.
"We are under the colony," said Ms Lim, adding that it was fitting for Chinatown to celebrate the coronation because "we are in Victoria, we are in Australia".
"Who do you pledge [allegiance] to?" Ms Lim asked.
She said the reason for commemoration was as simple as: "(Australia is) a Commonwealth country".
However, not everyone agreed with Ms Lim's views.
"I don’t accept that, I don’t think that’s a good enough reason," Trevor Coon, the general manager of China Books on Swanston Street, said.
He told SBS Chinese he didn’t think it was "appropriate" to have gold lights on Little Bourke Street to celebrate the new King.
Trevor Coon, the general manager of China Books, said he thought it was "terrible" to change the lighting in Chinatown in honour of the new British King. Source: Supplied.
"We are doing everything we can to promote Chinatown, to promote Chinese culture in Melbourne and in Australia. It’s got nothing to do with the coronation."
Mr Coon was not the only worker on the street who considered the lighting change controversial, with his views echoed by Matt O’Brien, a music booker at Section 8 bar, who said: "I don’t believe the King should be celebrated."
"I think that the colony of Britain is a false pretence. This was taken on (because of the false theory of) terra nullius where Indigenous custodianship was never acknowledged. This land was stolen," Mr O’Brien said.
He said he preferred to "see (promotion) that acknowledges the custodianship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people" in the CBD.
Matt O'Brien, who worked as a music booker at Section 8, said he didn't think the new King should be celebrated. Source: Supplied.
"I don’t mind [it]. I don’t say it’s not necessary, but I say we can celebrate it anywhere. It’s good," said George Huang, a manager of Crystal Jade Restaurant in Chinatown.
Owner of Heyday Hong Kong Cafe Eddie Lee whose business is located in a side alley said he doesn't mind what colours the lights were so long as they were not white or blue, which symbolise death, illness and funerals in traditional Chinese culture.
"These colours are not very good for Chinese people," he said.
"Here is Australia, (and) Australia is good friends with Britain, the celebration is appropriate," Lili Wang, owner of Jenni Therapy, said.
"Celebrating (the) coronation in Chinatown is indeed controversial," Fan Yang, a postdoctoral research fellow at Deakin University, noted.
"Do people often think about the extensive, post-colonial legacy and the harm of it in our everyday life? My answer is no.
"Chinese communities are part of Australia and some of them might want to align themselves with the part of Australia where the monarchy is embraced.
"When the public engages with such cultural products, there’s a lack of critical thinking. Most of the time, we see admiration and imitation of their (British monarchy's) prestige and wealth."
The Chinatown Precinct Association changed the lighting to purple to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II last year. Supplied: Chinatown Precinct Association.
Lu Si, aged in his late 20s, who walked through Little Bourke Street on his way home from work, said he believed that it was "not necessary" to celebrate the coronation in Chinatown.
"What does it have to do with the Chinese community?" he asked, and he admitted that he would never have realised the meaning behind changing the light colour if no one had told him.
Ivy Cheng agreed that it was difficult to connect the light colour change to the coronation of King Charles, but said that she could understand people who wanted to celebrate, even though she remained neutral.
"I understand people may have emotional connections with the monarchy, especially if they are from the countries that were colonies of Britain," she said.
"While there are people who would like to see Australia be a republic, it’s not a big enough issue. And it doesn’t have the big enough practical impacts on people that motivates them to campaign for a republic," said Yan Zhuang, a reporter in The New York Times's Australia bureau who is researching Australians’ ideas on the coronation.
"But there are signs that some people would like to see change," she said, referring to the appointment of the first-ever Assistant Minister for the Republic in June of last year, which was followed by the Reserve Bank's announcement that the new $5 notes would feature a design that honoured First Australians, rather than replacing Queen Elizabeth II with King Charles III.
"Australia is like a lot of other Commonwealth countries in making moves to cut ties with the Crown," Ms Zhuang said. "It is true that we are a Commonwealth country now but who knows what is going to happen (in the future)."
