Closing the door on xenophobia
Just over 50 years ago, ping-pong diplomacy and a visit to Beijing joined the hands of both President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, turning the tides of the Cold War in America’s favor.
Now, a half century later, once tentative allies have become bitter enemies, facing off over TikTok, Taiwan and tariffs. America’s present relationship with China seems to have reached incredible lows, to the point where it’s likely both countries may eventually engage in some form of military confrontation.
Therefore, it seems obvious why the American government has taken a harsh stance in opposition to China: to protect its trade and allied interests. Unfortunately, the only interests represented as of late seem to be those stemming from blatant xenophobia, or in this case, that of Sinophobia, the fear or dislike of Chinese people or culture.
Last month, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s congressional hearing serves to exemplify the staunch anti-China stance Congress has taken in past years, which became rampant during the Trump Administration’s focus on Chinese tariffs and the COVID-19 pandemic as a “China virus.”
The congressional committee’s hypocrisy shone through upon pointed questions discussing whether or not TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance “spied on American citizens” and the potential dangers posed to vulnerable youths when using the platform. Such vigor of interrogation was remiss five years ago, when over ten Russian military officers were charged with interference in the 2016 presidential election, an arguably much more direct threat to American democracy than just the possibility of TikTok selling user information back to its Chinese parent company.
Even just two years ago, when leaked Facebook documents revealed researchers’ awareness of Instagram’s effect on teen mental health, Congressional response seemed to be a great deal more informed as compared to the “Why do you need to know where the eyes are?” of March 23.
Yet it would be far from the first time that the government’s outlook has been reflected and amplified, by many negative degrees, in America.
Rather infamously, during the years of WWII, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the infamous Executive Order 9066, relocating over a hundred thousand Japanese Americans to internment camps for the sake of “national security”, despite no evidence of wrongdoing, as mentioned in a report by the University of California. Sound familiar?
Suspiciously similar terminology aside, it is no secret how Congress and federal executives have characterized the so-called “China threat” as of late—shooting down a supposed “spy balloon” in February and announcing plans to greatly limit American investments in China.
While these actions have obvious logical basis, they also inadvertently perpetuate the idea of outright conflict with China. Oftentimes, this sentiment sees itself interpreted as the idea of conflict with Chinese people, or those with Chinese heritage, instead of the country itself, providing justification for the less ethical to commit hate crime and to alienate East Asian American citizens.
Past instances have already proven the extent to which pre-existing Sinophobic sentiment has borrowed the arm of “potential threats to national security” to encourage racial profiling and cause real harm to Chinese American citizens.
In 2020, naturalized US citizen and Marine Corps veteran Baimadajie Angwang was one of many who were falsely accused and jailed for several months over claims of spying for the Chinese government.
It was only until this year, in January, that the charges brought against New York City Police Officer Angwang were dropped by federal prosecutors without further explanation, though by then his reputation was ruined within his local community. The effects of the accusations brought against him remain lasting as he has yet to be allowed to return to his post in the Police Department.
These patterns in behavior, reflected across over one hundred years, from 1919 to 2023, prove that this heightened aggression toward specific groups is no coincidence. If left unchecked, American apprehension and suspicion toward the Chinese and Chinese Americans will only continue to grow and fester, leading to damaging and potentially violent consequences.
As a country that prides itself on not repeating the mistakes of its past, America needs to acknowledge the budding issue it has at hand and take steps to manage the stirrings of targeted ethnic hostility before it becomes too late.
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