二十世紀初澳洲都市化下華裔社群的「華僑」敘事與政治結社

“Huaqiao” Narratives and Political Alliances of Urban Chinese-Australian Communities in the Early Twentieth Century

本文從澳洲華裔的「華僑」敘事和政治結社，論證二十世紀初都市化、白澳及中國民族主義三方面對澳洲華裔認同政治的影響。1905年後，隨著中國局勢和澳洲社會的轉變，「華僑」一詞逐漸被雪梨及墨爾本兩大城的華裔社群所接受，並籍由強調其在白澳下的受難形象，與其他海外華裔社群共通聲氣。1909年後，「華僑」成為澳洲華裔爭奪社會領導權的政治修辭之一，兩大城華裔領袖不約而同地希望透過報紙的力量，爭奪「華僑」的詮釋權，以此修辭凝聚華族的歷史記憶和文化民族主義，藉以整合全澳洲的華裔族群，並鞏固其領導權。1911年中國新共和革命前夕，澳洲華裔建立了第一個政治結社：「少年中國會」，並將現代時問意識和澳洲經驗重新嵌入華裔社群的歷史意識中。本文認為這段歷史發展，彰顯了澳洲華裔藉由現代報刊和政治結社重整社會網絡與領導權的方式，進而呈現該社群對於政治價值、社會想像和社會動員方式的轉變。此外也說明了：「華僑」的政治修辭重新詮釋並界定了新的人際網絡，個人與社會問的關係依據的不再只是傳統的人際網絡，但也不是純然法制上的歸屬意義，相反地，現代時間意識、華族歷史記憶和澳洲經驗所交織的歷史關係，才是凝聚澳洲華裔社群認同的重要基礎。

This article examines narratives of ”Huaqiao” in Australia to trace how identity was preserved through new political alliances and nationalism. It argues that urbanization, the White Australia policy, and Chinese nationalism all constributed to Chinese-Australian identity in the early twentieth century. For Chinese-Australians, the term ”Huaqiao” was adopted following the growth in hostility towards Chinese aroimd 1904 and 1905. Urban Chinese specifically adopted the term ”Huaqiao” as a self-reflexive label that located them in an international Chinese diasporic network, and at the same time offered a vantage point for pressing particular national claims in Australia. Chinese-language newspapers introduced styles of rhetoric and narrative that fed directly into processes of social mobilization and identity transformation under way in Federation Australia. Mobilizing in the name of the Chinese ”Huaqiao” diaspora began to make sense as an alternative form of community politics and cultural nationalism after 1909. Politics provided a compelling language for imagining Chinese-Australian social networks, identities, and imageries, and for wider dreams of dignity, peace, and prosperity. Political rhetoric and narratives thus contributed to the uniting of Chinese-Australians. The alliance of the ”Young China League” in 1911 on the eve of the Xinhai Revolution demonstrated that a consciouness of modernity and Australian experiences was constituting the historical consciousness of Chinese-Australians. This article thus shows that Chinese-Australian identity in the White-Australian period was more than merely a refmement of native kinship practices and inherited identities. The style of Chinese-Australian nationalism proclaimed in the local Chinese press was rooted in new historical narratives and modem models of political community.