<P> The fall of the Qing dynasty was met with mixed emotions by Chinese Australians . Some of the older Chinese born men were supporters of the reform movement and in Sydney Chinese conservatives got together for a dragon flag parade in support of the old regime . Others, however, supported Sun Yat - sen . Some Chinese Australians even returned to China to fight for the KMT both before the Xinhai Revolution and afterwards during the Northern Expedition . The KMT had quite a following in Australia . There were many KMT branches around Australia . During the Second Sino - Japanese War the Darwin branch of the KMT was a valuable source of information for Chinese Australians . Chinese Australians also showed the support for the republic with monetary donations . In 1913 Chinese Australians, Chinese New Zealanders and others in the Chinese diaspora in the Pacific, donated ₤ 36,000 to China . A letter of thank you to the Chinese Australians from the Finance Minister of the Republic is on display at the Golden Dragon Museum . </P> <P> World War One presented Chinese Australians with many unique challenges . It is by the outbreak of the war in 1914 it is estimated that there were less than 1000 Chinese Australian men of fighting age . Of these only about 198 men of Chinese ancestry managed to enlist in the AIF . One of these was the famous and decorated sniper Billy Sing . These men manage to enlist in spite of the policy that only those with significant European heritage were allowed to serve . There was actually an instance of institutional hypocrisy, on the one hand some Chinese were told they couldn't enlist but then were made to explain why they didn't enlist later to Billy Hughes' Exemption Courts . </P> <P> During the inter-war period, Australian - born people of Chinese background began to predominate over Chinese - born people for the first time . Numbers increased rapidly again when refugees began to enter Australia as the result of Japan's war in China and the Pacific . Some were Chinese crew members who refused to return to Japanese - held areas and others were residents of the many Pacific islands evacuated in the face of the Japanese advance . Still others included those with Australian birth who were able to leave Hong Kong and the villages on the approach of the Japanese . At the same time the anti-Japanese War helped inspire the development of organisations focused on China rather than the districts and villages of people's origin only, and aimed at making Australia aware of the danger of Japan and the need to assist China . A few of these organisations, such as the Chinese Youth League, survive to this day . </P> <P> In the post-war period, assimilation became the dominant policy and this led to some extension of rights with gradual changes to citizenship laws . At the same time cafes began to replace market gardens as the major source of employment and avenue for bringing in new migrants, both legal and illegal . These changes, combined with the increased number of Australian - born Chinese, the final return of the last of the domiciles who still wished to do so and the arrival of Chinese background students under the Colombo Plan from various parts of Asia, brought about the end of the dominance of south China in the link between China and Australia that had existed for nearly 100 years . </P>

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