I Survived a Week of Online Abuse — Here’s What No One Tells You About Australia [APS095]

Ever since I was featured in an article by an Australian mainstream media, it’s been a full week of backlash. Across forums, news platforms, and social media, I’ve been slammed left and right; people can’t wait to see me drown in criticism. Just under that news article alone, there were thousands of comments from locals. Other Australian media picked it up and republished it, and then Chinese-language outlets in Australia translated it—with a few extra dramas—and spread it even further. Last week, I became the hottest topic in the entire Chinese-Australian community.

Thankfully, some genuine supporters stood up for me in the face of those hateful comments. Others reached out through all kinds of channels, sending messages of support and encouragement, telling me to hang in there. This past week, I’ve been quietly watching and thinking. What I’ve realised is this: the deep divide in Australian society is only getting worse. And the overseas Chinese community? It’s no different. Anti-Chinese sentiment among the general public in Australia is alarmingly strong. For Chinese people trying to run a business and offer services to the locals, it’s brutally hard. So let me ask you: Is this still the Australia you want to come to? Is this really the Australia you want to stay in? And most importantly, after seven days of being relentlessly attacked online, what exactly has changed in my life?

Two weeks ago, on Wednesday, I received an email from Stephen Johnson, a journalist at the Daily Mail. He was inviting me to do a phone interview. Along with the invitation, he sent me a whole list of questions in advance—he said he'd be asking them during the call and wanted me to prepare. At first, I was hesitant. Why? The Daily Mail has always had a negative tone when reporting on Chinese immigrants and Chinese Australians. And that really worried me. I was afraid they might misrepresent me. Most Daily Mail readers are middle or working class. Honestly, that’s a bit distant from the topic of property investment. However, at the same time, they’re a right-wing outlet that promotes conservative values and has nearly seven million readers in Australia.

Stephen has previously interviewed prominent corporate CEOs and big names in finance, and his reporting has been pretty factual. Besides, I’ve been working to expand the English-language side of AusPropertyStrategy and tap into the Australian local market. So, after weighing the pros and cons, I decided to go ahead and accept the interview.

Two days later, on Friday morning, we spoke on the phone for over 40 minutes. The actual conversation covered far more than what ended up in the article. The report only captured about 50-60 per cent of what we discussed. The rest was mostly details. Before the article was published, Stephen checked several key points with me. I gave the green light. Only then did he publish it. So I have to say—I really respect Stephen's professionalism as a journalist from one of Australia’s biggest media outlets.But here’s the problem: the parts he left out, just to keep the story flowing, ended up becoming the exact parts people picked on.

Not just on Daily Mail’s own website—The article got re-shared on Facebook, MoneyMint, and LinkedIn too. And that’s when the number of nasty, hateful comments started to explode. I took some time to read through the comments from the English-speaking community. And the insults? They pretty much centred on a few key points…

English / IELTS

The article was initially supposed to focus on how I made money through real estate. But somehow, the comment section took a sharp turn. Instead of talking about property or wealth, people were obsessed with one thing—whether or not I could speak English.

Some said things like:“If he can’t speak English, how did he get a front desk job?” Another comment went: “He doesn’t even speak English, but his first job was at reception? And he had to answer calls? How’s that even possible?” Others chimed in: “People like this want us to believe in a rags-to-riches story. Can’t even speak English, yet got a receptionist job? Am I the only one who sees something off here?” Some even questioned: “If you can’t speak English, how did you even get into Australia?” As if my English ability—or lack of it—meant I must’ve snuck into Australia through the back door.

But here’s the truth: Every Chinese student who wants to come to Australia has to pass an English test. That was true 20 years ago, and it’s still true today. When I came here to study, the requirement was IELTS 6 in all four bands, reading, writing, listening and speaking. To apply for permanent residency, it was 7 in all four bands. What does that mean in practice?

In China, if you went to a first-tier university, passed the national CET-4 English test, and then did two months of intensive training, you’d probably hit all 6. If you weren’t that bright, another two months in a boot camp could still get you there.

When I started at the University of Sydney, I could barely handle the coursework. I could read the textbooks and submit assignments—but that’s it. I didn’t fully understand everything, and my writing wasn’t anything impressive. The hardest part? Presentations. You had to speak in English and answer questions on the spot. I could only use choppy Chinglish, struggling with grammar and vocabulary. Sometimes, my classmates didn’t even understand me—I had to explain myself multiple times. Picture that: standing in front of a lecture hall with over a hundred people… painfully awkward.

As graduation approached, if I wanted to stay in Australia, I had only one path: get 7s in all four IELTS bands. I can’t remember exactly, but I think I took the test 6 or 7 times. And by some luck, I ended up scoring 8 across the board. For anyone who's taken the IELTS, you know what that means—writing and speaking are the toughest. Afterwards, I even created a 1,000-page PDF where I documented how I studied and passed the exam—like an underground version of a guidebook. A small way of giving back to the next generation of students.

Chinese people are exam experts. But even with a high IELTS score, stepping into Australia’s local workplace is a whole different challenge. My first job was as an accounting clerk at a real estate agency in Sydney run by locals. I majored in accounting, so it made sense. The job didn’t require much talking. There were only 7 or 8 people in the office when I joined. However, not long after, the company hit a rough patch and had to lay off several staff members. Their tasks? The boss handed them all to me. And yes, that included answering phones at reception. Why? Because everyone else was gone, and the boss was too busy to do it himself. He didn’t have a choice. So when he asked me to do it, I had no choice. I just forced myself to do it.

At first, it was brutal. Calls from debt collectors, telemarketers, tenants and landlords with complaints, plumbers calling about repairs, someone trying to reach the boss for a tennis game—you name it. Reading and writing in English? Not too hard. Since it wasn’t real-time, I could look things up in a dictionary if I didn’t understand. But phone calls? That was tough. I could barely keep up. I didn’t understand Aussie culture, slang, current affairs, or real estate jargon. Sometimes I’d understand every single word—but still have no idea what the sentence meant. My spoken English? Terrible. I had to force out words one at a time. It was a textbook Chinglish: grammar all wrong, words out of place. So I tried to talk as little as possible. Just kept my head down and got the work done.

But after one year of working like that, things completely changed. I could finally understand what people were saying. I could express myself clearly. Sure, I still had an accent—but I could take calls, make calls, and handle English-speaking clients without a problem. That’s how I went from written English to fully functional spoken English, step by step.

All these details—I’ve talked about them before, in videos on the Chinese channel. My longtime followers already know this story. It just wasn’t included in the article. In the comment section, some people did speak up in my defence.

One wrote:“Even if he’s not fluent in English, he’s better at managing money than you. How much you make doesn’t matter—it’s how effectively you manage what you have. Managing money doesn’t require English. You have English, he has money. Sounds fair to me.”

Someone replied:“Exactly. Plenty of native English speakers do nothing but sit at home, watch TV, and scroll Facebook. They don’t want to work, they just want to criticise, complain, and mock anyone with an accent.”

So how many of the comments were about my English? Roughly 40%. And to me, that says something. It shows that many Australians aren’t really focused on making money, or building a better future, or rewarding hard work. They’re obsessed with the wrong things. Wasting time on what doesn’t matter… while ignoring what truly does.

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The “Immigrant Threat” Narrative

One type of comment I saw a lot was about the so-called “immigrant threat.” One wrote:“Australia’s already gone to the dogs. Young people have no future here, and politicians don’t even care whether immigrants come legally or not.” Another said, “Immigrants from overpopulated countries are a disaster for Australia. They contribute nothing, make housing unaffordable for young Australians, and destroy our culture.” And someone else added, “What has this guy ever contributed to Australia? He’s just here to make money."

Well, first off—immigrants in Australia are not dogs. We are human beings. Unless someone came here illegally or overstayed a visa, the rest of us are here legally. And if that’s the case—if we’re following the law—then the problem lies with the law, not the people who follow it.

Yes, there are indeed some immigrants who come here, don’t contribute, don’t pay taxes, and only collect welfare. But here’s a fact: There are 15.7 million Australians who don’t pay any income tax. That’s 57% of the population. And there are 2 million people in this country who live off only welfare. That’s more than the entire Chinese immigrant population.The funny thing is… no one in the comment section seems to mention that.

As for the claim that immigrants are “destroying Australian culture”—that’s even more amusing. What exactly is “Australian culture”? Does it even exist? Sydney’s culture is totally different from Melbourne’s. Even within Sydney, each suburb has its own vibe. When large numbers of British immigrants came here, of course, Australia learned more British. When more Chinese came, we formed our own communities and cultural influence. The same goes for Indians, Malaysians, and others. The evolution of culture in Australia is natural. Whether you accept it or not, it happens.

And then there’s this: “He came to Australia just to make money.” Well… obviously! If life in Australia weren’t better than back home, why would I come here at all? What would you prefer? That I just sit around collecting welfare, don’t work, and become part of that 57% of Australians who pay no income tax? Instead, we chose to invest in property. We increased housing supply so more tenants have places to live. We kept construction companies, materials suppliers, tradies, and even government agencies running and earning money. 

Remember when the pandemic hit? Why did the government suddenly hand out grants for first-home builds? Because they wanted to kickstart the property sector and all its downstream industries, to boost the economy and keep people employed. From where I stand, we property investors are doing quite a lot for the Australian economy.

Some Australians seem to believe that when someone from another country gets PR and citizenship, they should be grateful. Back in 2016, I met with a mid-level manager at a major commercial real estate agency in Sydney’s CBD. His firm was huge, and he was a local Aussie. He showed up 20 minutes late. Came in with his phone in one hand and a plastic bag of leftover lunch in the other. Clearly didn’t think this meeting was worth his time. At first, I didn’t think much of it. We chatted a bit, and then he asked: “Have you got your Australian citizenship?” I said yes. He then gave me this proud, almost condescending smile and said: “For a Chinese person, becoming a real Aussie must feel pretty amazing, hey?” Right then, I saw exactly how he thought. As if becoming Australian was something I should bow and give thanks for, as if Australians were inherently a level above. So I calmly responded, “Not really. I’m just a Chinese guy with an Australian passport.” He froze for a moment. Must’ve realised I wasn’t thrilled with his attitude. The meeting fizzled out after that. No real substance. Just ended awkwardly. That wasn’t the only time I felt looked down upon by locals. There’s a portion of the Australian population that does look down on immigrants. They discriminate. They hold racist views. They believe immigrants will always be one level lower than “real” Aussies.

Someone in the comments said: “No matter how long he stays here, no matter how many properties he owns, he’ll never be a real Australian. I remember a time when Australians used to help each other.” And another replied: “We don’t care whether your property investment is successful. There are Australians who go to bed cold every night, and you’re out here bragging about your houses? We are not joining the rat race.” Someone else said: “No wonder he came to take our jobs. He’s just trying to climb up the ladder.”

So now I’m here to steal your job? But why is it that the people who shout the loudest about immigrants “stealing jobs”…are always the same ones with no education, a bold head, and a beer belly? Those are video clips from the UK that someone shared—but honestly, they fit the Australian context perfectly.

One bloke said something that really hit home:“At least that guy’s working hard. What are we doing? Pointless protests every week, disrupting everyone’s lives. Some of these people have never worked a single day in their lives.”

Then came the housing crisis angle:“Australia’s in deep trouble. That’s why our next generation can’t afford a home. Investors are pricing us out of the market. Property investment should be banned.” And…“That’s why my kid won’t be able to buy a home one day.” But could it also be that their parents didn’t save up to help them? Most Chinese families do support their children financially. Or maybe—just maybe—the kid didn’t have enough competitiveness in the first place?

Someone had a sharper observation:“During school holidays, I saw ten teenagers stealing booze from a bottle shop. In ten years, these same kids will be crying on social media, blaming the government for not giving them jobs or housing, and saying immigrants stole what was rightfully theirs.”

Then there were the extremists:“The government should confiscate these people’s houses.” “We should just take all his assets. I’d do it.” Yeah… sure. These guys clearly haven’t visited that kind of country. In Australia, we call that robbery.

Fortunately, there were some fair-minded people, too. One wrote:“He worked hard and succeeded. Why criticise him? He’s not responsible for anyone else’s misfortune.” Another said: “ Stop the socialist nonsense, or being lazy. If you work hard, start investing in real estate, you could manage the same. Then rent your houses to those in need—what’s wrong with that?”

After reading through all the comments, I noticed a pattern. Most of the people attacking property investors—the ones saying investors make housing unaffordable and steal jobs—they’re mostly from South Australia or Melbourne. Brisbane is split 50/50. Sydney people tend to support real estate investment. They’re ambitious, forward-looking, and motivated.

So, if you’re thinking about coming to Australia to chase a dream…Maybe Sydney is the right place to start.

It’s Unfair Because the Money Came from His Parents

Another group of people in the comments asked where I got the money to buy the property. One said, “I just want to know where his money came from.” And tons of replies followed: “Definitely from his rich parents.” “He must have a Chinese billionaire dad funding him.” “Come on, your parents are obviously rich. Just admit it.”

Let me tell you what really happened. After graduating from university in Australia, I was immediately unemployed. Why? Because I had three master’s degrees—one in Accounting, one in Logistics, and one in Business Administration. And in the eyes of most companies, I was “overqualified.” That’s exactly how Aussies would put it. Think about it. With credentials that high, how long would I even last in a role that a high school graduate could do? So no one wanted to hire me.

Eventually, I found my first job out of luck—doing a bit of accounting and reception work. It was during a tough period in the Australian economy. After the company laid off several people, I took over all their roles. That’s when I learned English the hard way—along with residential property management, commercial leasing, development project feasibility, and even property sales. But in the end, I still got laid off. After that, I spent nearly a year without a stable job. I went back to doing the kinds of casual work I used to do back in my uni days: cleaning toilets, working in karaoke bars, washing dishes, helping with removals. I even lined up at Centrelink for welfare for a few months. Just barely getting by. If my parents were rich, do you really think I would’ve done any of that? I've shared this part of my journey on my Chinese channel before, and it’s also in my book. But I get that the English-speaking crowd might not have seen it yet, so it’s not surprising there are some misunderstandings.

Helping Chinese People Buy Property

One interesting contradiction I noticed in the comments was this:People said I’m helping Chinese people buy houses, but not helping Australians. One wrote, “He wrote a book to help Chinese people buy property in Australia—what chance do Aussies have?” Another said, “I was kind of interested when I first started reading the article, but when I saw he wrote a Chinese-language book teaching Chinese buyers how to invest in property, I thought: Get out. Chinese people should be banned from buying Australian property.”

Yes, I did write a Chinese-language book that teaches Chinese-speaking audiences how to invest in Australian real estate. But let’s be clear. Foreign buyers can only purchase brand-new properties in Australia. Locals don’t like to buy those. So, there’s no competition. Chinese citizens can only buy existing properties after they become permanent residents or citizens. That’s the law. We learned the rules, we followed the rules, and we used the rules—legally—to earn money. But a lot of Australians still can’t accept that.

Our English YouTube channel at AusPropertyStrategy is now growing steadily, and we’ve been teaching local English-speaking audiences how to buy property too. If the time is right, I’ll publish an English-language book. We’ll also run online and offline seminars. And when the day comes that we fill a seminar room full of Australians, I’d love to see what those jealous commenters will say then.

Tall Poppy Syndrome

In both Australia and New Zealand, there’s a deeply rooted cultural mentality known as the Tall Poppy Syndrome. When someone starts to succeed, society collectively tries to tear them down. In the age of social media, it looks like hateful posts, abusive comments, and public attacks. At the core of it? Jealousy, resentment, and suppression. Why? Because someone dared to rise above the average. It’s what we call “rich haters” And after the pandemic, this mentality only got worse.Think about it—57% of Australians don’t pay any income tax. More than half of the population relies on government payments. So, of course, this kind of attitude is growing.

When I see someone better than me, I admire them. Then I want to understand: how did they do it? What can I learn from them? Can I grow faster by following their path? But those with the Tall Poppy mindset don’t think that way. They see someone successful and react with envy. They choose to ignore them, shame them, drown them in hate. Their goal? Drag the successful back down to their level, and beat them with experience.It even discourages those who want to work hard and strive for better.

They start thinking maybe it’s safer to just hang out at the pub, drink cheap beer, collect Centrelink payments, and stop trying. Have you ever experienced something similar? Where once you started achieving something, you distanced yourself from your old circle—not because you changed, but because they just couldn't stand to see you succeed.

But some people get it. This one said:“This is a classic example of Tall Poppy Syndrome. But wait a minute—we live in a capitalist society. Isn’t this supposed to be winner-takes-all? Or have we already decided we’d rather go down the socialist path?” Another said, “Most of these commenters probably didn’t even read the article. Or if they did, they missed the whole point. He invested in property—something literally anyone can do.”

Of course, there were plenty of other comments too—but honestly, I found most of them to be completely pointless. Not worth my time or energy to respond. If you’re curious, feel free to check them out for yourself. So, what exactly are these people doing? They twist the facts, spread false narratives, and brag about things that never happened. And somehow… there are still people who actually follow this kind of content.

If you go to a restaurant and order a medium-rare steak, but they bring you a fully cooked chicken breast instead…what would you do? Me? I’d just eat it. Because I really don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me. When someone cuts in front of you in traffic, do you flip them off—or just let them go? I let them go. Maybe they’re in a rush. Maybe it’s an emergency.

Would you get upset just because your best friend didn’t invite you out shopping? And then wonder why you haven’t succeeded yet?

It’s because your mind is constantly stuck on things that don’t matter.Instead of focusing on the actual content of an article, you focus on what others are saying about it. You track gossip like it’s a reality show, sticking with it until the heat is gone. But here’s the thing: You should be spending your energy solving big problems. You should focus on actions that will help you reach your goals faster. You need to stay focused, eliminate distractions—That’s what people who want to grow and change should be doing.

What Changed After 7 Days

Speaking of change—Did my life actually change after seven days of online bullying? Surprisingly… yes. First of all, I didn’t really feel much about the “hate” itself. But I do want to thank all the fans who reached out, checking in from different platforms, hoping I’d stay strong. The truth is, I didn’t need to hold on because I didn't care.

Every type of person lives their own type of life. If you want a better life, there are all kinds of ways to get there. Those who disagree with me—or even hate me—will never change their minds, no matter what I do. So I won’t waste time trying to convince them. What people think of me… has nothing to do with me. Because I can’t control that. And I’ve got better things to focus on. I won’t waste time worrying about other people’s opinions. Second, my business actually grew. After the DailyMail article was published, inquiries to our company website went up.

A wave of high-net-worth clients reached out. One was a Microsoft director—who invited me for coffee. There were surgeons and anesthetists who wanted help managing their property investments. There were people whose homes had gone up in value, now looking to cash out and build real estate portfolios. And guess what? None of these people were from the Chinese community. They were all local Australians.

DailyMail was the first outlet to interview me—but it definitely won’t be the last. If someday Financial Review interviews me, the tone might be completely different. Because their readers care about investing, care about the economy, and care about making money.

As for what Chinese media and influencers say about me—I’ll just let them be. Anyone who spends hours stirring up gossip probably isn’t someone focused on personal growth. And they won't become my clients.

They earn money during work hours, spend it on entertainment after work, and find peace by insulting strangers online. If they’re happy, that’s great. We, property investors, still need tenants.

But if this video is a wake-up call for you, then you absolutely need to reach out to me because I’ve got a complete, hands-on approach that can help you grow fast, break out of that stagnant environment, build your wealth and broaden your perspective, and reach your goals through smart property investment.

Watch the video version of the blog on YouTube.

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