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South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Chinese graduates in UK turn to gig work amid job crunch: ‘it helps me survive'
Mark Lin had always dreamed of a career in the arts. As he finished his fine arts degree at a top London university in 2020, he began applying for dozens of roles at galleries, agencies and dealers across the capital. But the British economy was still reeling after months of pandemic lockdowns, and Lin hit a brick wall. After weeks of effort, he had an inbox full of rejection emails but not a single callback – and he was rapidly running out of money. That is when Lin decided to take a leap of faith: if no one would give him a job, he would create one for himself. Lin, then 25, began posting on Chinese-language social platforms, offering to run errands for other Chinese residents in the United Kingdom – airport pickups, Ikea assembly jobs, or anything else that would earn him a bit of cash. To his surprise, the response was overwhelming. After just a few posts, Lin was inundated with requests, and he was soon rushing around the city collecting government documents, walking dogs, and even clocking in at university campuses on behalf of his swelling client base. Before long, the side-hustle had grown into a thriving business. Lin registered a company in 2021, transferred to a skilled worker visa, and began hiring other young Chinese to handle an ever-growing flow of orders. Some months, his income reaches as high as £8,000 (US$10,900).
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Pik-Sen Lim obituary
The Malaysian Chinese actor Pik-Sen Lim, who has died of cancer aged 81, was one of the most recognised east Asian faces on British television and, despite being cast in stereotypical roles during her early decades on screen, enjoyed a 60-year career. Her highest-profile part came as the Chinese student Chung Su-Lee learning English at an adult education college in the ITV series Mind Your Language (1977-79). For Lim, taking a leading part in a successful sitcom – which attracted up to 18 million viewers – was a double-edged sword. 'I was forced to say 'flom' instead of 'from' and 'evely' for 'every',' she said. 'It was pretty corny. I had to learn pidgin English.' The programme was broadcast in an era when television sitcom was prone to amplify racial stereotypes. Alongside an Italian chef, Spanish bartender, Greek shipping agency worker, Japanese electronics expert, French au pair, a Sikh, a Muslim and other students of English as a second language, and with Barry Evans starring as Jeremy Brown, their teacher, Su-Lee was the Chinese embassy secretary, a dedicated communist and kung-fu enthusiast, always carrying around Mao Zedong's Little Red Book and quoting his anti-western sentiments. Michael Grade, then an ITV executive, commissioned Mind Your Language, but dropped it after three series, admitting it was racist. 'It was really irresponsible of us to put it out,' he said. Nevertheless, the sitcom was revived by other executives for a further series in 1986, although Lim did not reprise her role and not all ITV regional companies screened it. Soap operas had a much better record of representing members of minority-ethnic communities. Shortly after leaving drama school, Lim had an early opportunity to portray what is believed to be the first Chinese nurse on British television. She joined Emergency – Ward 10 in 1964 as Kwei-Kim Yen, a staff nurse at Oxbridge general hospital, who had a relationship with a doctor and stayed until the final episode in 1967. On leaving the serial, she appeared in the sitcom Sorry I'm Single (1967) as Suzy, a Chinese student from Hong Kong, one of three women living in a bedsit in a converted Hampstead house that was also home to an eternal student played by Derek Nimmo. Later came regular roles in Spearhead (1978-81) as a soldier's wife, and the short-lived soap Albion Market (1985-86) as Ly Nhu Chan, a Vietnamese stallholder selling wickerwork and baskets. She was born Lim Phaik Seng in George Town, Penang (then in British Malaya, and now part of Malaysia), during the second world war when it was occupied by Japanese forces. Her mother, Tan Siew Chin, was from a poor local family, while her father, Lim Cheng Teik, of Chinese origin, owned a successful rice mill. During her postwar childhood, Lim attended the Light Street convent school, where she was known as 'Pixi', and she was entranced by black-and-white films and visits to Teochew operas. She mounted her own productions in the family's dining room, acting with her brother, two sisters and cousins in front of relatives and neighbours. Lim's parents had plans for her to study at Cambridge University, with the aim of a career in law or accountancy, but she shocked them by dropping the bombshell that she was leaving home at the age of 16 to train at the Lamda drama school in London. She lived with her brother and changed her name from Phaik Seng to Pik-Sen Lim: 'My English friends were calling me 'fake' and I told myself, 'This just won't do.'' Her professional stage debut came in Euripides's Greek tragedy The Bacchae (Mermaid theatre, 1964) and she starred in the East German TV drama The Girl from the Jungle (1964), about Malaya's struggle for independence. In 1968, after her run in Emergency – Ward 10 ended, she married one of its scriptwriters, Don Houghton, who later created the Scottish soap Take the High Road. Houghton wrote the 1971 Doctor Who serial Mind of Evil, in which Lim played Captain Chin Lee, a member of the Chinese delegation at a world peace conference who, coming under the power of the Time Lord's arch-enemy, the Master, heightens tensions with the US. Lim also translated some lines into the Chinese language of Hokkien for a conversation between a delegate and Jon Pertwee, as the Doctor. While amassing dozens of one-off character parts on television, Lim appeared in half a dozen films. Her roles included an assistant to the Thought Factory boss acted by Bette Davis in Madame Sin (1972); the wife of an Asian diplomat (played by Burt Kwouk) in Plenty (1985), starring Meryl Streep; and a performance alongside Rowan Atkinson in Johnny English Reborn (2011) that led one critic to note that the 'best of the physical shtick here is the recurring appearance of an Asian granny called 'the killer cleaner' (Pik-Sen Lim), whose vacuum sweeper comes with an array of lethal attachments, including a chainsaw'. Her later TV parts included Aladdin's mother in the mini-series Arabian Nights (2000) and the regular roles of Chien, another student of English as a second language, in This Way Up (2019-21) and Queen Marina in the boarding school fantasy Vampire Academy (2022). She also voiced Grandma in the animated children's series Luo Bao Bei (2018). Lim and her husband were divorced shortly before his death in 1991. She is survived by their daughter, the actor Sara Houghton, a granddaughter, Phoebe, and her sister Quee Lin Lim. Pik-Sen Lim (Lim Phaik Seng), actor, born 15 September 1943; died 9 June 2025
SBS Australia
02-06-2025
- General
- SBS Australia
Rare books exhibition sheds light on long history of Chinese migrants in Australia
Rare books exhibition sheds light on long history of Chinese migrants in Australia Published 2 June 2025, 6:54 am A set of rare Chinese to English phrasebooks have been put on display at Victoria's State Library. The books were produced in 1862 during the state's gold rush; a time of massive Chinese migration to Australia and particularly Victoria.
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Alleged attack on Chinese couple leads 30,000 people to sign petition to toughen Australian youth crime laws
A violent attack on a couple in Sydney has sparked outrage in the Chinese community with almost 30,000 people signing a petition urging the New South Wales government to 'urgently reform youth criminal justice'. The man, 42, and woman, 40, both from China, were allegedly assaulted in Eastgardens in Sydney on 22 May by seven children. The woman was left with extensive bruising across her body, fractured fingers and impaired vision. The group – aged between 12 and 16 – were arrested in the days after the alleged attack and police have charged six with assault. On Friday morning, just over 29,000 people had signed a petition calling for a lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 10 for 'serious violent crimes' and to 'deny bail to repeat violent youth offenders'. Ami, who asked for her name to be changed, has signed the petition. She told Guardian Australia she was attacked in May while cycling through Redfern but says she does not 'believe sending kids to adult jail is the right solution'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Erin Chew, co-founder of the Asian Australian Alliance, which monitors anti-Chinese incidents, said personal safety is important to the community and it was affecting its response to this crime. 'I think, as Asians, we are taught as young kids to have more hypervigilance,' Chew said. 'When we go to countries like Australia, US or Canada … we are a visible minority. So we are actually a lot … more targets of opportunity in that sense.' Chew said the alleged Eastgardens attack 'may not necessarily be direct racism'. 'A lot of us who are Chinese or Asians know that because of racial stereotypes … you are perceived as being weak, meek and … somebody that doesn't fight back.' Speaking in NSW parliament on Wednesday in response to the recent attacks, Chinese Australian MP Jason Yat-Sen Li said 'racism doesn't need to be proven in court to be real in people's lives' and argued for tackling the root causes of youth crime: 'poverty, disengagement and trauma to young people and their families'. The Chinese-speaking community in Australia has taken to social media to post about their experiences and offer advice on how to fight back. Some have posted images of batons, rolling pins and even electric hair clippers as weapons to use in self-defence. NSW police has warned people not take the law into their own hands. In a statement, police said they 'do not support vigilante behaviour as it is a risk to all involved and often leads to unintended consequences'. Others are taking a different approach, such as Keira Yin, 32, who set up a mutual defence group chat for Chatswood residents, in the north of Sydney, to 'stand up together' and to 'avoid sleazy men'. 'The idea is that if something happens, people nearby can respond quickly and help each other.' Meanwhile, Neo Xia, 25, was allegedly attacked in Box Hill in Melbourne's east April. He said a teenager holding a machete allegedly attacked him, causing injuries to his hands and arm. Police confirmed a 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged over this incident for recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault, and bailed to appear in court at a later date. 'I don't really feel scared when it happened, more like angry,' Xia said. 'I still feel a bit unsafe when I walk to the station … also, I feel particularly nervous when Australian teenagers approach me.' Community advocacy groups say racism is rising after a downturn after the heights of the pandemic. The Asian Australian Alliance says Covid-based abuse has morphed into being 'more about people being told go back to China, or people being accused of being spies'. In a statement responding to the Eastgardens attack, Simon Chan, the Chinese Australian Forum president and a member of the Australian Multicultural Council, said rhetoric around Chinese spies by politicians degraded social cohesion. 'Our political leaders should lead by example in maintaining … Australia as the best multicultural country in the world.' The six children charged in the alleged Eastgardens attack have been released on conditional bail and are scheduled to appear in children's court in June.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Aussie says what everyone is thinking after spate of disgusting racist attacks
An Aussie bloke has condemned the horrifying attack on a Chinese couple after CCTV showed the pair being viciously attacked by a group of teenagers. The pair were confronted and later encircled in the courtyard of a unit complex on Oscar Place in Eastgardens, in Sydney 's east, on Wednesday. Five youths, some as young as 12, were arrested following the unprovoked attack, which saw a 42-year-old woman hospitalised for facial injuries. In distressing CCTV of the attack, she is seen being dragged to the ground and repeatedly beaten as a 40-year-old man desperately calls for help. David Galusi, an internet personality who grew a large Chinese social media following while he lived in the country, condemned the attack in a recent TikTok. 'They were just sitting down, speaking in Mandarin, and a bunch, I mean four to six teenagers, went out and blatantly attacked them for no reason whatsoever,' he said. 'It is absolutely not on, it is totally disgusting. 'Racism is not welcome in Australian society, and we are a society of multiculturalism. We accept all cultures in this country.' Galusi said those involved do not reflect the broader community after the video went viral on Chinese social media and sparked major backlash. 'Please do not judge our country based on these idiots, because their parents couldn't educate them well enough,' he said. The social media star also called for tougher measures for violent youth offenders. Pointing to Queensland's 'Adult Time, Adult Crime' laws, he urged NSW to follow suit. Under Queensland's expanded legislation, 33 additional serious offences, such as attempted murder, rape, and robbery, can now see young offenders tried as adults. NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia that, despite widespread speculation, there was no evidence to suggest the couple were targeted due to their race. The attack gained significant attention after it was shared to TikTok with the caption: 'In Australia, a Chinese couple was surrounded and brutally attacked by over 20 teenagers in the street, just because they spoke Chinese. 'The police don't care. The media ignores it. If we don't speak up, who will?' The video sparked outrage, with the poster adding, 'This isn't an isolated case, there have been similar attacks in Redfern and Waterloo'. The man and woman in the Eastgardens incident were treated by paramedics for facial injuries before they were taken to the Prince of Wales Hospital. Both have since been discharged. Two 12-year-old girls were charged on Thursday and remain before the courts. Following further investigations, another five youths were arrested. A 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were arrested on Friday after presenting to Maroubra Police Station. The boy has since been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company and affray. He was granted bail and will attend court on June 16. It's expected the 16-year-old girl teenage girl will be dealt with under the Younger Offenders Act at a later stage. Two teenage girls - both 14 - and a 13-year-old boy attended Maroubra Police Station at different times on Friday and were each arrested and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of other(s) and affray. All three were granted conditional bail to appear at a children's court at a later date. NSW Police said it was not looking for any other persons in relation to the assault.
