On a sunny street in the heart of Melbourne, a Uyghur woman wearing a hijab converses with a Vietnamese man dressed in bright red-and-yellow-striped bandana.

Key points: Uyghurs, Tibetans and others are uniting in solidarity with Hong Kong

Uyghurs, Tibetans and others are uniting in solidarity with Hong Kong The say the Chinese Communist Party is repeating patterns of oppression

The say the Chinese Communist Party is repeating patterns of oppression But pro-Beijing protesters say Hong Kong is "none of their business"

On the surface they might not have much in common, but recent events have given them a common cause — solidarity with Hong Kong protesters.

Hong Kong's long months of increasingly violent protests have galvanised disparate groups in Australia, many of whom have embittered histories with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

They see parallels between China's treatment of Tibet, its internment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, its "aggression" in the South China Sea, and the crisis of democracy unfolding in Hong Kong.

Members of the Uyghur and Vietnamese communities joined forces in solidarity with Hong Kong ( ABC News: Erin Handley )

But such solidarity, like that expressed at protests in recent weeks, is not without its sceptics.

With so many overlapping voices, some Hongkongers in Australia are resistant to muddying their five demands or having their cause hijacked by other interests.

However others say creating space for divergent views lies at the heart of Hong Kong's fight for democracy.

'Someone has to speak out'

Uyghur Muslim Alim Osman said Hong Kong's plight resonates with the Uyghur community's experience — he saw parallels in China's annexation of "autonomous regions" in Xinjiang in 1949, and Tibet in 1950.

"Now they're doing it to Hong Kong," he said.

China is accused of interning up to a million Uyghurs in what Muslims call "concentration camps", but China says they are "boarding schools" that are necessary to counter terrorism.

Alim Osman, president of the Uyghur Association of Victoria, said his community wanted to support Hong Kong but feared retribution for their families in Xinjiang. ( ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser )

"For our community it is a big risk … a lot of people are scared if they come out in public and speak out, their families and friends back home might get retaliation from the Chinese Communist Party," he said.

"I'm worried about that, but someone has to speak out."

He said the solidarity went both ways — at a Uyghur event in July, many Hongkongers attended and supported them, he said.

At the same time, Mr Osman, who is the president of the Uyghur Association of Victoria, notes the nature of China's treatment of Uyghurs takes on a religious and ethnic character that is fundamentally distinct from Hong Kong's existential battle.

"The people of Hong Kong want freedom and democracy, their political rights. In our case, we are persecuted because of our religion … already we have no rights," he said.

Uyghur woman Zahira Teliwaldy said scuffles that broke out between pro-Beijing and pro-Hong Kong protesters at the University of Queensland "shook" her.

Uyghur couple Zahira Teliwaldy and Ilzut Mamat said they needed to stand up to counter China's influence. ( ABC News: Erin Handley )

The time for tunnel vision on her own group's trauma was over, she said.

"That's what we did in the past, but its too late," she said.

Today's Hong Kong is 'tomorrow's Tibet'

Tibetan activist Tenzin Khangsar said Hongkongers, Uyghurs and others shared the same pain. ( ABC News: Iris Zhao )

Tibetan activist Tenzin Khangsar said the Chinese Government came into Tibet "in the name of peace and prosperity", but ultimately occupied the region with guns and tanks.

"What is happening in Hong Kong, this is what happened to Tibet," he said.

"Tibetans are living under fear. And every time Tibet protests and asks for freedom, they are put into prison and tortured and disappeared … Tibetans are burning themselves alive."

He said he felt "the same pain" and saw common cause with the Uyghurs, Vietnamese, Taiwanese and Hongkongers.

"You need to stand strong, we need to fight for your freedom. If you don't stand today, it will become like Tibet tomorrow."

Some protesters have identified with Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, who used parliamentary privilege to accuse China of interfering in Australia. ( ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser )

But he stressed Tibetans were a peaceful people, as pro-Beijing onlookers chanted "liar".

"We are not against the Chinese people. We are against the communist regime's hard-line policy," he said.

"I can see that Chinese people are brainwashed. They are innocent too."

From Vietnam to Falun Gong

Bon Nguyen said he fled Vietnamese communism by boarding a boat as an 11-year-old child. ( ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser )

Among those most vocal are the Vietnamese diaspora, who chanted: "The only good communist is a dead communist".

Vietnamese Community in Australia president Bon Nguyen said he wouldn't be surprised if this sentiment resonated with other victims of communist regimes.

"Of course I don't wish anyone dead … but I do wish for the regime to die, to give birth to democracy."

Mr Nguygen remembers as an 11-year-old boy being bundled onto a crowded boat, without his parents, to escape the communist north.

"We ran away from the regime, we came to Australia and we enjoy the freedom that we have here today," he said.

"We can't be too blasé about it."

Jiazhen Qi, from mainland China, and Grace Cheng, from the Falun Gong community, united to support Hong Kong. ( ABC News: Erin Handley )

He said he valued being able to protest in public, saying that in China or Vietnam people would be wrested from their families, arbitrarily detained and abused by authorities.

He said he felt a particular affinity with the Tibetan people and for the Falun Gong — a spiritual group that accuses Chinese officials of arbitrarily arresting practitioners and harvesting their organs, a claim China has repeatedly denied.

'Now they know what refugees are'

Peaceful protests in Hong Kong have escalated violently over the past three months. ( AP: Jae C Hong )

Hongkonger Zion Lo has been in Australia since he was 10 years old, and said there was a mixed reaction to the show of support from other groups.

"We understand they are standing in solidarity with Hong Kong, but at the same time Hong Kong people are quite traumatised," he said.

"They do need a bit of time to to build that trust and relationship with different communities in order to stand together."

Mr Lo said he appreciated their support but said there were some concerns expressed online that the fiercely outspoken groups might be pushing for fully-fledged independence, when many Hongkongers advocated pro-democracy, and simply wanted the "one country, two systems" framework to be respected.

"But we are living in a democratic society. We expect people have their different opinions to be expressed … we respect that," he said.

As a social worker, he said he had worked closely with asylum seekers, and that he understood what many of the different communities had gone through to be recognised as refugees in Australia.

"I believe not all Hong Kong people have gone through that. A lot of Hong Kong people have their own pride," he said.

"They would never imagine that we have come to this stage where now people are seeking refuge from Germany because they are trying to flee Hong Kong.

"Now they know what refugees are."

He said there was a pattern of escalation that could be traced between the different groups — protesters in Hong Kong have been framed as rioters and later as "terrorists", not unlike how Tibetans, Uyghurs and the Falun Gong were painted as religious extremists, he said.

Overlapping interests could dilute Hong Kong's message, but some say hearing different views is central to the pro-democracy movement. ( ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser )

"We have heard it, we have seen it, and now we are going through that," Mr Lo said.

"We are going through their past … It's our time in the history now."

'It's none of their business'

Charlie Liu said he came to laugh at pro-Hong Kong protesters from different ethnic groups. ( ABC News: Iris Zhao )

Chinese national Charlie Liu has been studying design in Australia for three years, and said it was "hilarious" to see Tibetan and Uyghur groups taking part in Hong Kong pro-democracy events.

"It's none of their business, but if they're here, they have their own reasons. Maybe they want to add more arguments to their [cause]," he said.

"The main idea in China, of these events, is that they are naughty children," he said, likening the protesters to six-year-olds who had broken their favourite toy, and saying that China was preventing terrorism.

"People always say freedom and democracy is the only path to a modern country, but it's not always right," he said.

"It's not that China is invading Australia, which I think is stupid, because investment is not invading … If investments are invading, the whole world is invaded."

Susan Zhang became distressed by the anti-China sentiment at the rally, and began yelling: "I love China! China is my mother!"

Suzanne Zhang said her family were Falun Gong, and were "fine" after they gave up their beliefs in China. ( ABC News: Erin Handley )

She said allegations that Falun Gong members were tortured were "fake".

"My mother, my sister and my friends were all Falun Gong practitioners," she said.

"When China ruled it as an illegal anti-government organisation, they all stopped practising and they were all fine."

"If the Australian Government says something is illegal, you shouldn't do it. Otherwise the police will take you away and put you in prison. There is no doubt about that."

She said some of the protesters were "anti-China" and criticised them for "interfering in our country's internal affairs".

"Every country in the world knows there is only one China. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are all parts of China," she said.

"Their event makes me feel sick."

The Chinese embassy in Australia and consulate in Melbourne were approached for comment but did not respond by deadline