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By Sharon Hu, 21st Century Business Herald, SFC

"I visited Guangzhou 17 years ago, and the changes here are tremendous. It"s much larger than my hometown Melbourne, and boasts a thriving arts and cultural community," Alice Pung OAM, Advisory Board Member of NFACR shared her impressions of this trip to Guangzhou with 21st Century Business Herald, emphasizing her profound connections with China as a Chinese Australian.

Pung noted that she has always believed the stories of Australian Chinese are well worth in-depth exploration. Besides serving as an Advisory Committee Member of NFACR, she is also an author who has published numerous books on Chinese Australian, available in both Chinese and English versions. Her goal is to enable Chinese and foreign readers to gain a better understanding of this community. 

Wendy Huang, another Advisory Committee Member of NFACR and a third-generation Chinese Australian, deeply feels that the Chinese community"s attention to traditional Chinese festivals has been continuously increasing. Nowadays, many local Australian families have begun to participate in the celebrations of traditional Chinese festivals held locally.

"Chinese Australians not only focus on integrating into Australian society but also pay close attention to the dynamics of the Chinese community and actively learn about Chinese culture," said Huang, who is in charge of media communications at NFACR. She added that she shares stories of Chinese Australians on media platforms to convey positive energy to a broader audience.

At the artistic level, NFACR is also promoting cultural integration between China and Australia by introducing more art exhibitions from China. "There is a large Chinese population in Australia, and they have a deep nostalgic attachment to their ancestral homeland. Naturally, they hope their descendants will have a better understanding of Chinese culture," Yin Cao, another Advisory Committee Member of NFACR, told 21st Century Business Herald.

NFACR was established in 2020 at the initiative of the Australian Government to deepen Australia-China relations and promote practical cooperation between the two countries. The two sides have focused their cooperation on areas such as climate change, carbon reduction, agriculture, health, arts, tourism, and education. NFACR allocates funds to key cooperation projects every year, having funded 190 projects with a total investment of 38 million Australian dollars to date.