Opinion: Anti-Asian hate - when will people stop attacking us for the way we look?

It is both shocking and not shocking news that another Chinese student was hospitalised after a racially aggravated attack in broad daylight, in Sheffield city centre.
By Lisa Wong
Published 6th May 2021, 17:21 BST
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As British born Chinese, I share the thoughts of many from the east and south-east Asian community.

Ever since Covid was attributed to originating from China my daily newsfeed has been littered with stories of similar attacks from across the UK and around the world.

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Racism towards the Asian community has existed for a long time but it has no doubt been exacerbated by the pandemic.

According to the East and Southeast Asian community, the idea of being the ‘poster image’ of coronavirus portrayed by the media and certain authoritative figures, has contributed to increased levels of racism. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)According to the East and Southeast Asian community, the idea of being the ‘poster image’ of coronavirus portrayed by the media and certain authoritative figures, has contributed to increased levels of racism. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
According to the East and Southeast Asian community, the idea of being the ‘poster image’ of coronavirus portrayed by the media and certain authoritative figures, has contributed to increased levels of racism. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Just because you look a certain way doesn’t mean you eat bats. It also doesn’t mean you have anything to do with a virus in which there is still no definitive proof as to where it came from or how it came about.

The first public media reports may have come from China but it doesn’t mean that everyone who looks ethnically east or south-east Asian is Covid, is infected with Covid or is to blame for Covid.

Over the past year, there has been story after story of innocent East and Southeast Asian people getting yelled at, spat at, shoved to the ground, and killed — purely because of what they look like. Properties have been vandalised with racist graffiti, doctors have had patients refuse to be treated by them, and businesses have lost business. The hatred has escalated far beyond the “Ni hao’s” and racial slurs we have gotten so used to over the years.

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It’s hypocritical that a large majority of these people will be happily using some form of technology that was manufactured in China, or eat Chinese takeaways, but at the same time they will also happily hurl abuse at the people who have allowed them to have such products.

I would agree that the majority of Sheffield people are welcoming and it is the minority causing the anxiety and distress, as has been in my own experience.

However, if Chinese students or businesses are driven away as a result of these hate crimes, Sheffield will lose out economically - just one reason why everyone should help stamp out any form of racial abuse.

For more learning resources, see: End the virus of racism, Besean and others.

Related topics:China