Chinese community reacts to anti same-sex marriage pamphlets

Pamphlets made by the Australian Chinese for Families Association to oppose same-sex marriage have drawn a range of reactions.

The association was co-founded by Dr Pansy Lai who also fronted the 'no' ad for the Coalition for Marriage.

The pamphlets distributed throughout Sydney and Melbourne are written in traditional Chinese.

"Same Sex marriage has nothing to do with equality," the pamphlets state.

"It will lead to a broader shift of the definition of Gender.

"And will threaten freedom of speech and faith."

Two Gay Chinese-Australians, Bo and Tim said they are concerned about the same-sex marriage postal survey.

“In Chinese communities, there are still many people not 'out’,” Tim said.

“Especially young people, who have been through this identity struggle, in sense of sexuality, and see this kind of material, it will be quite devastating,” Bo said.
Dr Lai said there is a need to explain the consequences of the postal survey.

"Obviously I can't speak for everybody, but I have spoken to a lot of people and received support."

Bo said he respects the right of the association to have its say, but he disagrees with its opinion strongly.

"I don't think they can represent the Chinese community and they only represent a small amount of people," he said.

His view received support from someone outside his immediate community.

Linda Heaphy, heard about similar material that had been circulated and with the help of crowd-funding has produced and circulated her own version.

"Especially the elders of those communities, I wanted them to have access to a fair and balanced response, a fair and balanced argument," Ms Heaphy told SBS World News.

Sam Wong from the ACT Chinese Assocation said the way the community was being targeted in the postal survey shows how his community is active in Australia.

"We've been here for 200 years and we like to be part of Australia and therefore involve ourselves in all political decisions," the association's patron said.

The production and distribution of pamphlets for the 'Yes' and 'No' campaign comes as the government again calls for a civil debate.

"You can not expect your side of the argument to be respect if you can not respect the other side of the argument," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said.

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Published 8 September 2017 8:38pm
Updated 8 September 2017 8:53pm
By Laurie Lawira

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