Lecture 3 - A History of the Chinese Youth League in Australia from its inception until the Liberation of China in 1949 by Dr Drew Cottle


The Chinese Youth League (CYL), a progressive patriotic organisation, is one of the few surviving political organisations of the early Chinese diaspora in Australia. [1] It was established in Sydney on 1 July 1939...As relations between China and Australia 'normalised' after 1973, the CYL's previous political commitments were superseded by the cultural, sporting and welfare concerns of Chinese Australians. The radical past of the Chinese Youth League faded into the background and politics were less and less in command. A bridge of solidarity had been built by the CYL from 1939 until 1973. Thereafter, as the Cold War receded and as China underwent political and economic transformation, the political significance of the Chinese Youth League diminished.


Seminar Series

  • From Family Story to Australia's Story: Tim Watts MP in Conversation with Stephen FitzGerald AO [Watch online (opens in a new window)]
  • The 1912 "Chinese Revolution at Atherton" by Professor Darryl Low Choy  [Watch online (opens in a new window)]
  • The Chinese Youth League in Australia from Its Inception until the Liberation of China in 1949 by Dr Drew Cottle [Watch online (opens in a new window)]