From xxxxxx <[email protected]>
Subject Ten Tips on Talking about China, Chinese People and COVID-19
Date May 8, 2020 3:56 AM
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[ A quick read for organizers on how to talk about China, Chinese
people and COVID19. The rise of xenophobia and the onslaught of China
bashing is just another right wing political and narrative strategy to
deflect responsibility of COVID-19 by Trump.] [[link removed]]

TEN TIPS ON TALKING ABOUT CHINA, CHINESE PEOPLE AND COVID-19  
[[link removed]]

 

Alex T. Tom
May 5, 2020
Organizing Upgrade
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_ A quick read for organizers on how to talk about China, Chinese
people and COVID19. The rise of xenophobia and the onslaught of China
bashing is just another right wing political and narrative strategy to
deflect responsibility of COVID-19 by Trump. _

People wearing face mask walk across a street in Wuhan, Hubei
province, Jan 21, 2020., Photo/China Daily

 

This is a quick read for left organizers on how to talk about China,
Chinese people and COVID19. The rise of xenophobia and the onslaught
of China bashing is just another right wing political and narrative
strategy to deflect responsibility of COVID-19 and consolidate
Trump’s base to win the White House in 2020. This is strikingly
similar to the attacks on Muslims and the Latinx community in 2016.

1. CHINA IS BIG AND THE PEOPLE ARE VERY DIVERSE.

This might be a very obvious point, but it needs to be said because…
I guess people still lump _all_ Chinese people together. There are
1.4 billion people in China, the largest city is Shanghai at 26
million people (San Francisco is only 800,000 people). It is still the
largest working class in the world… So when you talk about
“China” or “Chinese people,” please do _not_ overgeneralize.

2. CHINESE IDENTITY IS COMPLEX, TO SAY THE LEAST.

I am _not_ the greatest fan of Confucianism, but on our sabbatical
in Vietnam, I was reminded by a Vietnamese OG revolutionary that
Chinese (East Asian) thought came long before Western thought (i.e.
Socrates and Plato) on the role of the people (“man”) and state.
Over thousands (I mean thousands) of years many Chinese have
struggled, died over and killed others to defend and advance that
identity and state. Yet, it is still one of the most contested
identities in the modern world. For example, while officially
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s
Republic of China
[[link removed]], the Hong
Kong democracy movement has faced repressive measures from the
government and formed their own version of Hong Kong nativism and
nationalism, albeit not always progressive
[[link removed]].

3. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT IS ALSO VERY BIG AND NOT MONOLITHIC.

Contrary to what many have been told, the people in the Chinese
government are not authoritarian robots. They are people with diverse
views and a set of complicated relationships and interests.Although
the government has consolidated more under Xi Jinping
[[link removed]],
there are capitalists, feminists, socialists and Maoists and others.
It is not just a left-right spectrum of politics but a
multidimensional and geopolitical one. And please, don’t believe the
hype. Let’s not fall for the anti-China Trump-backed Falun Gong or
Epoch Times [[link removed]], or
for “China-can-do-no-wrong” tankie groups dismissing the
anti-blackness in China
[[link removed]].
Just be a little more rigorous about what you post.

4. CRITIQUES OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT ARE VALID BUT NOT IN A VACUUM.

COVID-19 may have originated in China and there is evidence
of initial mishandling
[[link removed]], but blaming and
shaming is not the solution
[[link removed]]. U.S.
government and corporate elites
[[link removed]] have
their own failings and lies and man-made wars that have killed
millions. For example, the U.S. government waited 70 days after
initial warnings
[[link removed]] and
targeted only Chinese in New York when studies now show the majority
of cases came from Europe. And, not that we should, but it does not
appear that anyone is blaming Italians or any other Europeans for
their poor handling of the coronavirus
[[link removed]].

5. CHINA’S WILDLIFE AND TRADITIONAL MEDICINE INDUSTRY IS A PRODUCT
OF GLOBAL CAPITALISM.

Although some practices root from Chinese traditional medicine, it is
now a $70-plus billion industry that preys on global poverty and,
Chinese culture for profit. A single pangolin is worth up to 3
month’s wages for rural villagers in Thailand
[[link removed]].
This is a product of global capitalism
[[link removed]]_ not_ “Chinese
culture [[link removed]].”

6. IN THE END, U.S. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS WILL BENEFIT THE MOST
FROM CORONAVIRUS CAPITALISM.

Last week, 10 billionaires added a total of 
[[link removed]]$51 BILLION  [[link removed]]to
their fortunes [[link removed]]. Meanwhile, unemployment
claims in the US soared to 30 million [[link removed]].
From insider trading
[[link removed]] to
corporate bailouts, we should follow the money and monitor how
disaster capitalism flows through this crisis. This should not be a
surprise. Even before the COVID19 crisis, U.S. transnational
corporations profited not only from cheap labor but also domestic
consumerism in China. Last year alone, Apple brought in more than $260
billion in revenue; China is also Apple’s 3rd largest market behind
the US and Europe accounting for 20% of its revenue
[[link removed]].
KFC and GM sell more chicken and cars (separately) in China too.

7. SPREAD SOLIDARITY NOT BLAME, FEAR OR HATE.

While Chinese and Asians appear to be the most visible scapegoats
right now in the U.S., the Chinese government is blaming Africans
[[link removed]],
the Hindu right is blaming Muslims for the coronavirus
[[link removed]],
and the white nationalists are also blaming the Chinese government
and Jews for the coronavirus
[[link removed]],
the list goes on. We need to end the cycle of hate. This only helps
white nationalism and white supremacy! Let’s thread a new kind of
international solidarity in these times.

8. PROTECT “ESSENTIAL” AND ALL WORKERS.

From medical workers to food service, farm and factory workers, we
need sufficient worker protections to slow the spread of this
virus. Workers are dying literally to keep this economy going
[[link removed]]. Also,
public institutions that feed and educate
[[link removed]] our
communities are often forgotten until a crisis like this. Let’s
remember the role of _all_ workers when they are not seen as
“essential” anymore in the new normal.

9. GLOBAL COOPERATION AND INTERDEPENDENCE IS THE SOLUTION! LIFT UP
U.S.-CHINA COOPERATION THAT IS _ALREADY_ HAPPENING.

Eddie Wong said it best in his latest article
[[link removed]]:
“Let’s take our lead from the hard-working doctors, nurses, and
support staff struggling to save lives despite inadequate protection
and equipment. Let’s promote the doctors and scientists who are
cooperating internationally to find ways to stop the pandemic.”

Here are some examples from Eddie’s article:

* Chinese scientists posted the genetic sequencing code of Covid-19
to the world scientific community on January 10, 2020. This has
enabled the design of diagnostic kits all over the world and provided
the basic research scientists need to develop a vaccine.
* Harvard University doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital are
working in conjunction with peers at Xijing Hospital and two other
hospitals in northern Italy on the use of nitricoxide to treat
coronavirus patients.
* BioNTech, a German company, is working with Pfizer, an
American-owned multinational corporation, and Shanghai Fosun
Pharmaceutical on developing four vaccines that will undergo human
trials with 200 subjects in May.

10. A LINKED FATE.

The SARS crisis hit 17 years ago and was easier to contain at a time
when global capitalism was less developed. In the 21st century, we are
more interconnected and global than ever. As tensions rise between
China and the U.S., workers on both sides will be the ultimate losers
[[link removed]].
Like in the U.S., there are many in China that are angry about how
their government is handling the COVID-19 crisis. But the solution is
not hate and blame
[[link removed]].
Beyond this, there are plenty of internal contradictions in China like
state surveillance, repression of 
[[link removed]]Uyghur
[[link removed]], workers
[[link removed]],
and feminists. However, there is much work ahead to build a strategy
of solidarity based on people to people relationships and
diplomacy. We have a lot to learn from innovative and nimble activism
in China
[[link removed]] and just because
there is criticism, it doesn’t mean people want to “overthrow”
the government.  [[link removed]]The
Chinese people and people around the world have a linked fate. We need
to begin creating a new “we,” a new bloc of solidarity. That is
where the solutions and strategies lie. Let’s build and focus our
energies here.

STAY FOCUSED IN THIS DANGEROUS TIME

There is a lot of COVID-19 angst and it makes sense because of all the
uncertainty but we all need to stay focused and chill out! There will
be a new normal and it will be a _long_ time before things stabilize
or flatten. The economic recession will have lasting impacts that will
alter generations. We need to be like water and, like water, be
prepared for anything
[[link removed]].
Just as capital is so nimble we need to learn to navigate the crisis
and conditions in front of us. But, more than anything, we need to be
extremely grounded, be prepared to govern and be the majority
[[link removed]].
We also need to account for every unit of energy and agency from our
ancestors. As the good people at the Highlander Center
[[link removed]] said, we need to tap
into the legacies of our resilience, mutual aid, and
self-determination that has existed in our communities for hundreds,
if not more, years
[[link removed]].
We must do all this while keeping our eyes on the prize.

_Please read my earlier piece, “__We are the Majority: Remembering
Grace in these times_
[[link removed]]_,”
which focuses on building a new kind of solidarity in these times.
I’ve also been inspired by_ _W. Kamau Bell’s “Me and Bruce Lee
Would Like to have a word with you_
[[link removed]]_”
and_ _Eddie Wong’s “WTF Stop Anti-Asian Hate_
[[link removed]]_.”_

_For more left perspectives on China, here are some additional
resources:   _

_Chuang Blog_ [[link removed]]

_The Lausan Collective_ [[link removed]]

_Justice is Global_ [[link removed]]

_China Labor Bulletin_ [[link removed]]

_[Alex T. Tom is the former Executive Director of the Chinese
Progressive Association in San Francisco. Currently, he is the
Executive Director of the Center For Empowered Politics, a new
capacity-building project that aims to train and develop new leaders
of color and grow movement infrastructure. Last year, Alex received
the OSF Racial Justice Fellowship to develop a toolkit to counter the
rise of the new Chinese Right Wing in the U.S.]_

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