The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will code "Hongkonger" ancestry as "Chinese" in the upcoming 2026 census, despite calls from community groups for distinct recognition. This decision, announced just four days before the census on Tuesday, August 11, means that individuals like Australian citizen Kevin Yam, who plans to list "Hongkonger" as his ancestry, will not see their identity registered separately in official data. Yam, born in Hong Kong and a former pro-democracy activist, left the territory due to recent political turmoil.
The ABS relies on the Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) to categorize ethnic groups. "Hong Kong ancestry is not a separate ancestry category in ASCCEG and will continue to be coded to Chinese," the ABS stated to the ABC. The bureau claims other questions, such as country of birth, parents' birth country, and language spoken at home, help measure Australia's diversity. Yam questioned this logic, asking, "If you can say that you're born in Hong Kong and you can say that you speak Cantonese at home, then why can't you say that Hongkonger is your ancestry? It just makes no sense."
State-Imposed Identity
This stance has frustrated activists who have advocated for change for five years. Jane Poon, president of the Australia-Hong Kong Link community group, emphasized the importance of self-identification. "I'm the third generation born from Hong Kong," Poon said, adding, "We treasure our own identities and also hope that others, [whether] it's the Australian government or other people, recognise and acknowledge our own identity — not just imposing [a Chinese] identity over us." Hongkongers highlight their distinct identity, shaped by more than 150 years of British rule and vastly different education and political systems compared to mainland China. Key distinctions include writing in traditional rather than simplified Chinese and speaking Cantonese instead of Mandarin.
Hong Kong was returned to the People's Republic of China 29 years ago in 1997, under a promise to maintain its own capitalist and political system for 50 years. Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong politician and now an Australian resident, noted that while Hong Kong has long been culturally distinct, the impetus to assert this unique identity intensified seven years ago in 2019. Mass protests erupted then in response to perceived encroachments on democratic freedoms by the Chinese Communist Party. Hui, like Yam, is wanted in Hong Kong under the extra-territorial National Security Law and was granted asylum in Australia last year.
The Cost of Erasure
Hui linked the ABS's decision to broader state efforts at cultural erasure. He pointed to China's "Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion law," introduced two months ago in June, which has sparked concerns among those deemed to be "undermining ethnic unity." Human rights groups contend this new law attempts to erase the country's ethnic minorities. Hui stated, "The more oppressed we are, the more we feel the need to maintain that [identity] so that it doesn't disappear." He added, "Otherwise, the unique culture that we have will just vanish." He described Hong Kong not merely as a birthplace but as a lived experience and cultural identity, noting, "We haven't lived in Beijing's political propaganda all our lives, so we have more independent thinking. I think that also makes us Hongkongers." Hui called the ABS's categorization "inappropriate and unfair," suggesting it "may be inadvertently fitting into the Chinese political propaganda."
Ramila Chanisheff voiced similar concerns for the Uyghur community, a Turkic Muslim population from Xinjiang. She urged Uyghur respondents to identify themselves as such, rather than Chinese, citing the new ethnic unity law. Members of the Tibetan and Taiwanese communities also encouraged their members to list specific categories for ancestry, seeking visibility and understanding for future policies. The ASCCEG, while extensive, includes omissions; for example, within Myanmar, groups like Kachin, Shan, and Karenni are not recognized, while Karen, Mon, Chin, and Rohingya are. The system is not static, having added "Israeli" and "Edo" since the last census five years ago, and relabeling others.
State Enforcement and Limited Reforms
The census itself is compulsory, with failure to complete it attracting a $364 per day fine, underscoring the state's power to enforce its data collection methods. While respondents can now select up to four ancestries, compared to two previously, the fundamental categories remain dictated by the state. Another point of contention for some in the Chinese community is the country of birth question, which lists seven common options but excludes China, despite it being the third-most common country of birth in the 2021 census. An ABS spokesperson explained this has been the case since 1991, "to encourage more specific answers for this question, such as China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan, which are collected and reported separately in Census data."
Community leaders also raised concerns about language barriers, as the census is only available in English. The ABS spokesperson defended this, stating that translating the census into many languages would be "a complex process that creates a risk of incorrect translation, which could create data quality issues." They claimed the ABS "undertakes an extensive consultation and testing process" with community representatives, yet acknowledged, "While it is not possible to fulfil all the requests we receive through the process, we are focused on making sure the census reflects, as best as possible, modern Australia." This "consultation" offers little in the face of state-imposed classifications that deny distinct cultural identities.