(Question about things) Chen Yiping: How to decode the saying "I am Asian, but not Chinese"?
China News Service, Beijing, July 16th, title: How to decode the saying "I am Asian, but not Chinese"?
——Interview with Chen Yiping, Professor of the School of International Relations of Jinan University and Deputy Dean of the Overseas Chinese Research Institute
China News Agency reporter Xie Ping Jin Xu
It has been more than a year since Freud was kneeled to death by the American police.
During this year, the problem of racial discrimination in the United States has not been alleviated, and the phenomenon of discrimination and hate crimes by Asians has intensified.
What is particularly disturbing is that some Asians and Chinese descent even draw a line between them, and even make comments that are unfriendly to Chinese descent, which undoubtedly contributes to the spread of hatred and discrimination.
Chen Yiping, a professor at the School of International Relations of Jinan University and vice-president of the Overseas Chinese Research Institute, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service on "Question of East and West", deciphering that racist discrimination in the United States not only occurs between whites and Africans, whites and other minorities, but also exists. Within minorities, including Asians.
Skin Tone Exposes U.S. Race Contempt Chain
The easy-to-attack labels such as skin color and appearance are deeply embedded in the racial proposition.
Chen Yiping believes that conflicts between ethnic relations are the fuse of discriminatory tragedies.
"For a long time, African Americans have been unable to enjoy the rights they deserve due to discrimination, leading the mainstream anti-racism narrative in the United States to focus on the contradictions that are difficult to reconcile the black-and-white relationship." Chen Yiping pointed out that the origin of the "black-and-white" relationship can be traced back all the way. In 1619, when the first batch of black slaves were sold to the Port of Jameston, Virginia, they were labeled as "indentured slaves" and "servants." By the end of the 17th century, black slavery was finally established, and white racial superiority was finally established. And the enslavement of blacks took root on American soil.
Chen Yiping pointed out that the vigorous civil rights movement of the 20th century had to some extent eased the conflicts between white Americans and African Americans, but the United States still has "systemic racism" by whites against African Americans.
The Freud case has rekindled the "Black Lives Matter" movement, exposing issues such as violence and abuse of power by American society against African Americans.
African-Americans have obtained certain “privileges” with their strong ethnic identity and ethnic mobilization capabilities. In order to appease African-Americans, various state governments, large companies, and schools have strengthened their “exclusive” preferential treatment for African-Americans, providing free treatment, Exclusive scholarships, fill employment positions and other benefits.
According to Chen Yiping, while African Americans enjoy benefits in areas such as employment, education, and medical care, some Asians have fallen victim to hidden "racial quotas" and are treated differently.
Chen Yiping emphasized that the inequality between American ethnic groups has not been eliminated, but has gradually turned the contradictions into a tense "black and yellow" relationship.
The demonstrations triggered by the Freud case have been constantly exposed to "out of control" behaviors, and Asians, including Chinese, have also become victims of violent demonstrations.
The argument that "Asian people are at the bottom of the discrimination chain" is not groundless.
As early as the 1992 Los Angeles riots, black rioters targeted the Asian groups headed by Koreans, and more than 2,000 shops operated by Korean shopkeepers were robbed and vandalized.
Since the outbreak of the new crown in 2020, the gap between African and Asian descent has also deepened.
Asian female nurses were brutally beaten by blacks in the New York subway, Chinese women were attacked by African-American women in Manhattan for no reason, and African-American teenagers overthrew Chinese scavengers for no reason... Such incidents are not entirely accidental, and they are exacerbating Asian fears and fears. anxiety.
There is diversity in self-perception among Asians
According to data released by the US non-profit organization "Stop AAPI Hate": 43.7% of the victims of hate incidents are Chinese, and they are more likely to be targets of racist attacks and hatred than other Asian groups, followed by Koreans, accounting for 16.6%, and the Philippines. Ethnicity accounted for 8.8%, and Vietnamese accounted for 8.3%.
The phenomenon of rejection of Chinese is also emerging within Asian groups.
According to reports, T-shirts with the words "I am Asian, but I am not Chinese, I am definitely not a virus" are sold on online platforms; Sery Kim, a Korean American who is running for the U.S. Congress Publicly express hatred of ethnic Chinese...
Chen Yiping believes that in the context of the "big tear" of rising racism in the United States, the Chinese have become scapegoats for the new crown epidemic, other Asian groups have acted to discern relationships, and the exaggeration of Qiuya sentiment, etc., many external factors have promoted this kind of "differentiation". The act of “sweeping the snow before the door” occurred.
In addition, we must also see that the diversity of self-recognition among Asian groups affects their behavioral judgments.
Chen Yiping said that Asian American is a term that is gradually self-internalized by the definition of "other."
The U.S. Census Bureau's definition of "Asian" refers to the population of "origins" in the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. It is not a concept of nationality, but a concept of race.
The "root" mentioned here roughly includes two situations: one is Americans who self-identify as Asian races or Asian ancestors, and the other is Americans who were born in Asia or use Asian languages and scripts in their families.
"Compared with African Americans, Asian Asians in the United States are not a homogeneous body, and their internal culture is more diverse and complex." Chen Yiping said that Asian groups are known as the so-called because of their good economic conditions, educational level and social status. "Model minorities", but Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indians, etc. each retain their unique cultural backgrounds and have a strong sense of belonging, making each other in terms of culture, religion, political identity, social class, and historical origins between the countries of origin, etc. Disagreement or conflict arises.
Chen Yiping said that in addition to historical inertia and systemic factors, the exaggeration of ethnic issues by American electoral politics and party politics has deepened the prejudice and misunderstanding of all ethnic groups towards Chinese descent.
For example, in order to obtain votes and win elections, political parties and politicians may hype up ethnic issues, or constantly exaggerate the so-called "China threat" and other demonized remarks, slandering the Chinese as "spy", especially when the new crown virus is named "Kung Fu flu." When "Chinese virus", the hatred was directed at the Chinese.
He believes that some people within Asian Asians have also accepted the above-mentioned demonized remarks, accusing the Chinese in the so-called "self-protection", which has caused the Chinese to suffer double discrimination.
Many investigations and studies have also proved that the discrimination incidents in the epidemic have nothing to do with the origin of the victims.
For the perpetrators, "yellow skin, black hair" is the target of the attack, and the specific identity of the target is not carefully judged at all. Therefore, trying to draw a clear line with the Chinese is tantamount to "drawing water with a bamboo basket."
The key to dealing with discrimination lies in Asian cohesion
For Asians, how can they better deal with discrimination incidents?
Chen Yiping said that the key lies in enhancing the cohesion and influence among Asian groups and strengthening the legal protection of Asian rights.
Chen Yiping said that gathering Asian power can effectively resist words and deeds that discredit and provoke discord among Chinese, and jointly resist discrimination against Asians and pursue equal rights.
"The Chen Guoren case in Detroit, USA in 1982 caused great dissatisfaction and protests among Asian groups, prompting them to unite to promote the protection of their rights and interests. This case is of great reference to the current situation of Asians."
Because of their low enthusiasm for political participation and weak political awareness, Asians were once called "dumb", which is not conducive to the display of overall strength and the fight for rights.
Chen Yiping pointed out that Asians can give full play to the power of group votes, actively participate in politics, increase the number of candidates in various levels of government, express political opinions in the elections, actively speak out, and break the American society's stereotypes of Asian ethnic groups.
In fact, the Chinese have practiced their own practices and have always been active in the front line of anti-Asian discrimination.
According to reports, New York State Senator Liu Chinyi organized an online Asian-Pacific American Tradition Month celebration to commend those who actively participated in anti-Asian hate activities; Zhao Xiaolan, the former Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation, published the title "Asian Americans should be respected, and The article about "rolling back to China" and other insults" emphasizes that Asian-Pacific Americans are an indispensable part of the United States; Chinese congressman Meng Zhaowen proposed the "Asia-Pacific American History Teaching Method", which aims to deepen the understanding of Asian-Pacific Americans. Knowledge of history, contribution and experience to help combat bigotry and hatred of Asian-Pacific descent...
"Promoting the improvement of relevant legislation is the key to increasing the influence of Asians, so as to fight for the protection of the rights of Asians." Chen Yiping pointed out that the passage of the Anti-New Crown Hate Crimes Act is the beginning of combating anti-Asian crimes. This is not only The result of the active promotion and support of U.S. congressmen is also the result of the solidarity of Asians.
Chen Yiping said, "The attention and support of the US state and local governments, the understanding and implementation of the judicial system, and the degree of easing of inherent ethnic conflicts in society are the keys to observing the effectiveness of the bill." (End)