The Death of White Australia Policy

The "White Australia Policy" lasted until the Second World War. It was the gunfire of Japanese militarism that opened the hearts and horizons of people in the ruling and opposition circles in Koya, Australia, and gradually gained a new understanding of the race with black hair and yellow skin. MacArthur, commander-in-chief of the US military defending the Philippines, led the defeated troops to retreat, Japanese planes bombed the border town of northern Xinjiang, and Japanese submarines invaded the waters near the water. The most thrilling thing is that the "Tokyo Rose" surrendered to the "Pacific Orphan" day and night, and the Australian people woke up from confusion. It turns out that the suzerain country with the same cultural blood relationship is, after all, the other side of the ocean. Once disaster strikes, it will be too busy to wait. On the contrary, the geopolitical competition that has been psychologically alienated for a long time is close at hand, but it is closely related. Under the threat of war, while assisting General MacArthur to reorganize the allied forces, Australia adjusted its psychological consciousness and confirmed the reality that distant relatives were not as good as close neighbors. China, in particular, is one of the allies who have resisted Japanese aggression for the longest time and sacrificed the most. There is no reason to discriminate against China people only in terms of interests and stick to the "White policy". So by the end of the war, more than 1000 China people who were ravaged by gunfire in the Pacific British Islands were evacuated to all parts of Australia, which was undoubtedly the first sound of breaking through the "White Australia Policy" in silence.

Australian Foreign Minister D.C. Spindle put forward a plan to help Asian countries at the Colombo meeting 1950, namely the famous Colombo Plan. The Colombo Plan has various shortcomings, but it has one advantage for Australia, that is, it has greatly impacted Australia's white policy and racist ideas. According to the Colombo Plan, students from Asian countries can study in Australian universities, which helps to break the attitude of discriminating against non-white races. Even the immigration minister A.R. Downer, who is more conservative than Premier menzies, has been influenced by anti-racism, and his attitude towards the old immigration policy has changed. By 1957, non-whites who have lived in Australia for more than 15 years are eligible for citizenship, while the immigration law of 1958 abolished the listening test and replaced it with a simpler entry test.