Talk:Chinese Australian Herald

GA review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Chinese Australian Herald/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: MCE89 (talk · contribs) 22:16, 20 December 2025 (UTC)

Reviewer: DannyRogers800 (talk · contribs) 00:24, 23 December 2025 (UTC)

Rate	Attribute	Review Comment
1. Well-written:
	1a. the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct.
	1b. it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.
2. Verifiable with no original research, as shown by a source spot-check:
	2a. it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline.
	2b. reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose).
	2c. it contains no original research.
	2d. it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism.
3. Broad in its coverage:
	3a. it addresses the main aspects of the topic.	Seems like it.
	3b. it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).	Relevant and straightforward.
	4. Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each.
	5. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.	Doesn't get more stable than this.
6. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio:
	6a. media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content.
	6b. media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.
	7. Overall assessment.	Great! Well done for your this fine piece of work, and thank you for being patient!

I'll review this over the next two days or so. DannyRogers800 (talk) 00:24, 23 December 2025 (UTC)

Thanks again! Have replied to your initial comments below. MCE89 (talk) 01:04, 23 December 2025 (UTC)

Sorry for taking so long to return; my assignments are due in mid-January, and I've largely cut myself off from Wikipedia. I can't conduct the review properly right now, although your work is almost certain to pass. Would you mind if I put this review on hold until time has mercy on me? DannyRogers800 (talk) 03:49, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

No worries at all, no rush on my side. Feel free to take your time with it and good luck with the assignments. MCE89 (talk) 12:17, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Hi @DannyRogers800, hope the assignments all went well! Just checking in on when you're likely to have time to finish this review? No stress if you're not able to get to it right now, still no rush :) MCE89 (talk) 15:59, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

Sorry about this, I have kept you waiting for an unreasonably long time. I'll finish the review by this week, I promise. And I'll probably leave Wikipedia for now once that's done. DannyRogers800 (talk) 18:43, 10 March 2026 (UTC)

@DannyRogers800: No worries at all, totally understand! Thanks again for the review - I've responded to those additional points from the source review below. MCE89 (talk) 14:49, 16 March 2026 (UTC)

General

• Before giving a detailed review, you may consider Kuo's study "The Chinese Australian Herald and the Shaping of a Modern ‘Imagined’ Chinese Community in 1890s Colonial Sydney" (view it here), which is unused. Perhaps it can provide new material.
  • Unfortunately I had a read through it while writing this and found that Kuo had essentially repurposed that article into a section of her 2013 book, which is what I've used as my main source. There isn't really anything in the article that wasn't also in the book, so it seemed duplicative to cite both
    • Makes sense
• You may want to add this image of a supplement to the Herald, or/and this one of a page from the April 13, 1907 edition.
  • This is great, thanks! Added.
• The lead image needs alt text.
  • Done
• Perhaps you can wikilink "Chinese" in the infobox, as it is wikilinked in the lead.
  • Done
• I'm unsure about this; was the Herald written in a particular Chinese langauge?, as Chinese refers to numerous languages in China.
  • Yep - I've wikilinked to Written vernacular Chinese, which is also discussed briefly in the body
• And thank you for your review!
• There are no signs of AI prose.
• Earwig shows no noteworthy signs of copyvio.
• I'll start with some small, mostly nitpicky prose and style suggestions:

Lead

• Perhaps the date or status of the paper can be hinted at in the small description. So, it can read, "Defunct Chinese-language Australian newspaper", or "Chinese-language Australian newspaper (1894–1923)".
  • Done
• The newspaper was founded by the bilingual editors Lee Caizhang and Sun Johnson, with support from the businessmen James Alexander Philp and George Arthur Down.: You use the passive voice in most sentences of the first lead paragraph, which can be changed to the more direct, clear active voice. For example, this sentence can read, "The bilingual editors Lee Caizhang and Sun Johnson founded it, with support from the businessmen James Alexander Philp and George Arthur Down."
  • Done
• on a weekly basis: Shorten to "weekly".
  • Done
• In its early years, the newspaper has been described as acting as a bridge between white Australians and the Chinese community. You can remove the comma after "years", as you omit the comma after introductory date phases throughout the article. Also, I don't think the tense is consistent. Should it read, "In its early years the newspaper was [past tense] described as acting as a bridge between white Australians and the Chinese community", or "The newspaper in its early years [so, the early years of the newspaper] has been described as acting as a bridge between white Australians and the Chinese community"?
  • Done, the intention was the latter
• While the paper was initially supportive of the Qing dynasty reform movement in China, it eventually shifted towards support for the nationalist cause in the years leading up to the 1911 Revolution. First, "was initially supportive" can be trimmed to "initially supported". More importantly, I think some background to what the "Qing dynasty reform movement" was can help. It would clarify why the two ideas (supporting the dynasty reform and supporting nationalism) are contrasted.
  • I've had another go at it, how does that look?
    • Reads well now
• In its later years the paper also became more critical of Western imperialism and the treatment of Chinese-Australians. The "also" is unnecessary. And I suggest wikilinking "Chinese-Americans".
  • Done
• I don't think "Chinese-Australians" should be wikilinked, as it's not being used as an adjective.
  • Assume you mean hyphenated? If so, agreed and done
    • Yes, that's what I meant
• The newspaper in its early years has been described as acting as a bridge between white Australians and the Chinese community. Should it be "has been described" or "was described"?; in other words, did contemporary sources describe the paper as a bridge, or do modern scholars describe it thus?
  • The intended meaning here was modern scholars. I've rephrased to Scholars have described the newspaper as acting as a bridge between white Australians and the Chinese community during its early years.
    • Fine but "Scholars have described" is a bit weasely. Mentioning the name of one such scholar would resolve this.
      • I've just gone with The newspaper acted as a bridge between white Australians and the Chinese community during its early years, which I think is fine for the lead as a summary. I've attributed it to Kuo in the body.

Foundation and early years

• Philp and Down formed a company to operate the newspaper, which they named Down, Philp and Co.: Named is used in the previous sentence, so this can be shortened to "Philp and Down formed a company to operate the newspaper, Down, Philp and Co."
  • Done
• It was written in vernacular Chinese rather than the more formal literary Chinese to appeal to less-educated readers, and published its first issue on 1 September 1894. The "more" can be removed if literary Chinese is by itself formal. In my opinion, the sentence combines two pieces of info (the language and publication date) unrelated to each other. Perhaps the "published its first issue" clause can be moved to the final sentence of the first paragraph, but this is a matter of opinion.
  • Done, removed the "more" and moved the publication date to the end of the paragraph
• He also joined the paper's operating company ... "Also" can be removed: best to reduce use of this word.
  • Done
• The paper cost two pence per issue, or four shillings and four pence for a six month subscription and eight shillings for a year-long subscription. I think most readers are unfamiliar with old British currency, so a footnote, conversions, or/and some wikilinks to explain the worth of a penny and shilling can help.
  • Wikilinked
• ... using typesetting rather than stencils Wikilink "stencils".
  • Done
• It also began using telegrams ... Wikilink "telegrams".
  • Done
• The paper had by that point expanded its circulation throughout Australia and the Pacific islands, and the following year it began to be distributed in Melbourne, Brisbane, and London, reaching a circulation of 800 copies. The time setting is not clear: by which point exactly? Perhaps you can indicate the year in which the paper's circulation grew. Also, the verb "begin" is used three sentences in a row, so maybe you can replace one instance with "start" or something else.
  • Added the specific point in time and changed to "start"
• By 1900, it was also distributed in China, the Philippines, and Java. Should "Java" be wikilinked?
  • Yep, done
• It also placed an emphasis on reporting on fruit and vegetable prices ... "Emphasized" is more concise. And the "also" can be removed: there are eleven instances of "also" in this article.
  • Done
• As the paper did not employ journalists of its own, its contents in its early years largely consisted of translations of stories that had been published in other newspapers. This can be made more concise. I would suggest rewriting the second clause to, "in its early years it largely consisted of ..."
  • Done
• Eventually it began encouraging readers to contribute stories from their own local communities. No need for "began" here. "Eventually it encouraged readers ..." is direct.
  • Done

Federation era

• What exactly does "Federation era" refer to?
  • It refers to the years surrounding the Federation of Australia in 1901. I don't love this either, but I struggled to come up with a suitable heading to go between "Foundation and early years" and "Later years and dissolution". Given that the sourcing only really describes the paper's publication hitory around the federation era this seemed like the best option, but open to suggestions.
    • That's okay.
• The newspaper worked with the Lin Yik Tong to host another carnival soon after, which was widely advertised in the English-language press. "Widespread" is used in the previous sentence, so I suggest finding a synonym for "widely". And the sentence structure with "which" introducing the dependent clause is repeated in the previous sentence as well. You can split off this clause into a sentence of its own and merge it with the next sentence thus, "Again, the English-language press greatly advertised the event and responded positively to it", or something like that. I know these suggestions are nitpicky; you can ignore them if you wish.
  • Agreed and done
    • Good but now there are three consecutive sentences starting with "the", which makes the prose quite clunky. The last sentence is the one that I think can be changed most easily, but I don't exactly know how. I'll leave it to you.
    • Done
• The Chinese Australian Herald frequently reported on differences between Australian and Chinese culture, with the aim of helping its readers to better understand Western habits. This can also be shortened. It can be rendered as "The Chinese Australian Herald frequently reported on differences between Australian and Chinese culture to help its readers understand Western habits", or "... to inform its readers on Western habits".
  • Done
• The paper continued to frequently praise Western culture and Western education, while eventually also expressing some concern about the potential loss of Chinese customs. However, despite often expressing its admiration for Western culture and encouraging its readers to adopt Western practices, the Chinese Australian Herald also frequently criticised anti-Chinese sentiment and campaigned for better treatment of the Chinese community. These two sentences are very similar to each other. The first can be removed and the second rewritten to, "Despite expressing admiration for Western culture, the Chinese Australian Herald frequently criticised anti-Chinese sentiment, cautioned against [if this is what the source implies] losing Chinese customs, campaigned for better treatment of the Chinese community".
  • Rewrote those sentences to avoid repetition
    • Better but there's still some repetition. The two sentences The paper continued to frequently praise Western culture and Western education.[18] However, the Chinese Australian Herald also criticised anti-Chinese sentiment and campaigned for better treatment of the Chinese community. can be merged into one thus, "The paper continued to frequently praise Western culture and Western education but also criticised …", or "… while also criticising …"
      • Done
• It also placed a high value on democratic values and civic participation, often framing the virtues that it was attempting to cultivate in its readers in terms of Confucian values. This can also be shortened. I suggest, "It promoted democratic principles and civil participations among its readers, often framing them in Confucian terms". Change it as you wish.
  • Done
• The paper supported Australian federation, but was critical of the government's poor treatment of the Chinese community. Again, the contrast between these two points is not made clear.
  • Tried to clarify, let me know if that's clearer
    • Much better. You can remove the comma before "but".
      • Done
• Following a 1900 outbreak of plague in Sydney's Chinese community, the newspaper promoted Chinese nationalism and condemned the community's unfair treatment. You mention the paper's opposition to the community's treatment in the previous sentence.
  • Specified that the paper specifically protested the response to the plague outbreak, in addition to its more general criticism of the government's treatment of the community
• The newspaper was generally supportive of the Qing dynasty reformers in its early years, but was not nearly as vocal as the rival Tung Wah Times and the affiliated Chinese Empire Reform Association (CERA) in its support for the Emperor. "The newspaper" can be replaced with the pronoun "It". The comma before "but" and the "was" following it can be removed.
  • Both done
• The paper's coverage of Australian politics also became more pessimistic amidst the emergence of the White Australia policy, although it generally showed less concern about the policy than the Tung Wah Times. The structure of the first sentence is repeated. Maybe the second part can be rewritten to "... but the Tung Wah Times generally showed more concern about the policy". Also, "also" can be removed.
  • Both done
• Remove the commas after "By 1900", "By 1905", and "In late 1905" for consistency.
  • Done
• Kuo writes ..." Use "notes" or "observes" for some variation.
  • Done

Later years and dissolution

• You can rename the section to "Dissolution and legacy", which is more precise. Then again, there's not much about the paper's legacy in this section.
  • Good idea, done. As you can probably tell, the sourcing is unfortunately extremely thin on its publication between about 1905 and 1923

Sourcing

• Bagnall 2014: Certainly a reliable source. The last three statements citing Bagnall 2014 are generally sourced well, but Bagnall writes that the newspaper had a peak circulation of "up to 1,000", not about 1,000 copies. Also, the info on the paper's digitization and Trove seems to be sourced from page 164 only, not pages 163 and 164. None of the information in the first sentence citing Bagnall (While another short-lived Chinese-language newspaper titled The Chinese Advertiser had been published on the Victorian goldfields in the 1850s, the Chinese Australian Herald was the first Chinese-language newspaper to achieve a national circulation) is to be found in Bagnall's paper, save for the fact that the Advertiser was short lived. Bagnall does not write that the Herald was the first paper to achieve a national circulation, but that it "was the first major Chinese language newspaper in Australia" (which you can include in the lead and "Legacy" section, but the way). And as far as I can tell, Bagnall's paper was published in 2015, not 2014.
  • Oops, changed to 2015 and "up to" 1000. The remainder of the information in that first sentence citing Bagnall is from the other citation, pp. 5-6 of Kuo
• A copy of Kuo's Making Chinese Australia would be appreciated, as I can't find a free version online.
  • If you send me an email I can reply with a PDF of the relevant pages
    • Thank you for the document
• Random spot check for Kuo 2013b:
  • citation 6 --- fine
  • citation 21 --- fine, but amended quote ever so slightly as an extra comma was included
  • citation 13 --- good, but the page range should include 60 too
    • Fixed MCE89 (talk) 14:49, 16 March 2026 (UTC)
  • citation 3 --- good
  • citation 27 --- good
  • citation 15 --- perhaps it's worth explaining how the Herald contributed to the event... and did this contribution or the event led to the positive coverage?
    • Expanded on the Herald's role and clarified that it was the event that led to the positive coverage MCE89 (talk) 14:49, 16 March 2026 (UTC)
  • citation 8 --- good
• Kuo 2013a: I will not be checking this, but it's worth mentioning that the page range of citation 18 is likely not valid, as the source lasts until page 244.
  • Fixed, the first page range was from Kuo 2013a and the second should have referenced Kuo 2013b MCE89 (talk) 14:49, 16 March 2026 (UTC)
• Liu 2007: Very likely reliable. The citations back up the information, save for the first instance, but in that case it is backed by Kuo, so it's fine.

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. You can locate your hook here. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by TarnishedPath (talk) 11:50, 23 March 2026 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

First issue of the Chinese Australian Herald

• ... that the Chinese Australian Herald (pictured) was distributed as far away as London, the Pacific Islands, and the Philippines?

• Source: Kuo, Mei-fen (2013). Making Chinese Australia: Urban Elites, Newspapers and the Formation of Chinese Australian Identity, 1892-1912. Sydney: Monash University Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 9781925377934. Once Gordon and Gotch had taken on CAH's distribution in Melbourne, Brisbane and London, it became a newspaper for the Chinese not only in New South Wales, but also in Victoria, Queensland and overseas ... By 1900 its circulation had expanded further to New Caledonia, Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, Rarotonga, China, Java and the Philippines.

• • ALT1: ... that one of the primary objectives of the Chinese Australian Herald (pictured) was to report on fruit and vegetable prices? Source: Kuo, Mei-fen (2013). Making Chinese Australia: Urban Elites, Newspapers and the Formation of Chinese Australian Identity, 1892-1912. Sydney: Monash University Publishing. p. 58. ISBN 9781925377934. The network of Chinese storekeepers in the paper's local circulation and promotion also played a significant role in its success. As noted above, one of the core aims of the CAH was to report on the market price of fruits and vegetables, and this service was an important incentive for Chinese market gardeners, hawkers and fruit storekeepers to become a major part of the paper's readership in the 1890s.
  • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/American Society of Marine Engineers

Improved to Good Article status by MCE89 (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 21 past nominations.

MCE89 (talk) 14:17, 19 March 2026 (UTC).

• I'll review this. ミラP@Miraclepine 19:58, 19 March 2026 (UTC)

General: Article is new enough and long enough
New enough: Long enough:

Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Adequate sourcing: Neutral: Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
Cited: Interesting:

Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px.
Freely licensed: Used in article: Clear at 100px:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: Promoted to GA three days ago, size 7571. Image is PD in the US and Australia; I had reservations about accepting the image given the text is illegible (as well as in Chinese), but even with these two issues, people can easily see at 120px that it's a newspaper (still, I'm concerned people may mistake this as a political advertisement or something similar, so I don't mind if a promoter pulls the picture on that ground). Prefer ALT1 since ALT0 is relatively not unusual given newspapers were usually delivered around the world even in the early-20th century and this appears nationwide based on the name, which would make a better case for the bizarre motive ALT1 is centered on. ミラP@Miraclepine 21:30, 19 March 2026 (UTC)