Not only has the recent emergence and transmission of the COVID-19 mongered fear, it has also aggravated vitriolic anti-Chinese sentiment and xenophobia within international media and society. Rather than encouraging compassion and care towards those afflicted by this condition, it has generated racist messages that denigrate Chinese habits and customs or blame the victims for spreading the disease. The line between understandable fear and undeniable discrimination is rapidly dissipating; the immoral racialisation stemming from the virus has circulated and reinforced stereotypical views of ethnic groups, their behaviours, and practices both cultural and social.
One of the most prevalent scapegoats in the face of catastrophe relates to the ‘exotic diet’ or the ‘poor hygiene practices’ of the Chinese; this implies that the virus was man-made. A video of a Chinese vlogger consuming a bat was widely circulated, feeding a narrative of stereotypical derision - namely, all Chinese people, according to this narrative, are uncivilized, one aspect of this lack of progression the consumption of wild game. Fishing for selective criticism, the defaming video was found to be dug up from a Chinese influencer's documentation of her trip to Palau, a Micronesian island, in 2016 - where the local delicacy was bat soup.
There are many other cases of Anti-Chinese prejudice in eurocentric media emanating from the spread of the coronavirus. In France, for example, a local newspaper - Le Courrier Picard - headlined COVID-19 ‘alerte jaune’ (yellow alert) and ‘le péril jaune’ (yellow peril). Following backlash for their use of antiquated terminology, the newspaper released a mea culpa. Additionally, in Australia, Herald Sun, a widely distributed newspaper, facetiously described the coronavirus as a 'Chinese virus pandamonium'. An online petition demanding public apology has yet to provide an outcome. Similarly, an illustration replacing the five stars on the Chinese flag with viruses was published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. In response, the Chinese Embassy of Denmark expressed indignation and demanded a formal apology; the Prime Minister of Denmark however refused to do so, claiming that Denmark valued 'freedom of speech'. Indisputably, it is deeply inappropriate, not to mention inconsiderate and cruel, to impose an unapologetic stereotype, subsequently branding a country by their epidemics, and - on top of that - politicise the devastating medical situation. These are only a few of the endless examples of the hysterical bigotry and aversion through sensationalist coverage.
Some use the virus to advance the anti-Chinese agenda and to entrench modern segregation. The staggering reports of the Chinese diaspora being subject to verbal and physical abuse, egging, online hate, and dirty looks in public indicate the symptomatic of the deep-rooted ignorance. Moreover, businesses have globally refused to serve those of Chinese descent, including many restaurants in Hong Kong that implemented a ban on all Mandarin-speaking customers. The Chinese city is also notoriously known for using xenophobic slurs such as 'locust' to those across the border. Likewise, a confectionery shop in Hakone, Japan forbade all Chinese people from entering, at the same time the Twitter hashtag #ChinaDontComeToJapan was trending in the country. Many countries are also demanding Chinese repatriation, making the sentiment prevalent in the physical world. Over 126,000 Singaporeans signed a petition calling for Chinese nationals to be banned from their country. Worse yet, the University of California, Berkeley listed on Instagram that xenophobia and fears about interacting with those who might be from Asia are ‘normal’ reactions to the coronavirus amongst anxiety, feelings of helplessness, social withdrawal, and anger. Around 30% of the university’s students are from Asia, with around 2,900 of them from China.
As a response to prejudice, Chinese people worldwide raised awareness and shared their stories about sinophobia. Youth, in particular, are impelled to combat stereotypes and clichés about Chinese. Members of the Chinese diaspora in France who were frustrated by the new wave of stigma and discrimination gave rise to the Twitter hashtag, #JeNeSuisPasUnVirus (I am not a virus). On an Instagram post, Chinese basketball player Jeremy Lin expressed that he was "saddened by the racist comments regarding the virus in China. There are real people suffering and real heroes working around the clock in service to others – please don’t let your fear or ignorance rob you of seeing that".
The fact that Chinese customs are antitheses to Western norms does not justify the condensed bigotry and ignorance. Diseases do not discriminate or respect borders. We must remember that in a dire situation like this, there are, ultimately, suffering people and we all should make an effort to provide our support to those affected.