Opportunistic racists jump on coronavirus to spread anti-Chinese sentiment

In response to the novel coronavirus, Chinese citizens and people of Chinese descent around the world are receiving unfair treatment. In Australia, fake news paraded as news releases from the state government have been going around in Sydney and in Brisbane, urging people not to visit areas where there is a Chinese-Australian ratio of 1:3. It's all bogus, racist and incredibly insensitive. On social media actors, journalists and figures are tweeting responses to the racism they've encountered:

Simon Liu, a Chinese-Canadian actor, tweeted, "Just reminding you that the coronavirus doesn't give you an excuse to be a dick to Asian people."

Twenty-five-year-old Chinese-Australian journalist and writer Yen-Rong Wong tweeted, "RE: racism and#coronavirus－This is the first time I've ever felt physically unsafe in Australia because of my race. I thought we were over this but obviously not."

One Twitter user said: "It's just common sense, says the racist".

Tammy Ho Lai-Ming, editor of Hong Kong literary journal Asian Cha Journal, tweeted: "I can understand people's frustration about the current#coronavirus situation (I'm frustrated& worried) but this portrayal of mainlanders as zombie-like is offensive&unnecessary. Can we resist the urge to generalise & stigmatise a whole nation of people?"

I spoke with one friend, a Chinese national who studied in Boston and who was a summer school student in Hong Kong with me some time ago, who said: "I think it's unfair, when we all are the potential victims, I hate to see people making comments saying Chinese 'deserve' this or we made this happen.

"Also some people are using their personal feelings about the Chinese government to respond to the virus outbreak, which is irrational, rude and disrespectful.

"I have friends who are doctors and who are fighting on the front line right now. My family aren't together for the Chinese New Year because my dad has to stay in town for any emergencies, he's been having meetings about this for a week and is working basically 24/7. And instead of enjoying the long break to see their families, workers at the factories producing medical equipment are working flat out.

"I've been avoiding the comments and reports of Western media because at this point everyone is vulnerable and I don't need some random racists annoying me."

Some of them will jump on any chance to play to anti-China sentiment, and here's one.

There was a story run in a Sydney tabloid:

Haymarket bystanders fear catching coronavirus after man collapses.

A man who died from a heart attack on a busy Sydney street did not receive vital cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that could have saved his life because bystanders feared he might have the virus.

Apparently no attempts were made to save his life following videos of citizens in China collapsing in the street due to the novel coronavirus. While this is a tabloid, it demonstrates the deadly impact fake news, anti-Chinese sentiment and dehumanizing a race and country and accusing them of creating a virus can have.

There's definitely a story here about racists opportunistically making the most of the virus to spread racial hatred and anti-Chinese government sentiment. Such kinds of sentiment do nothing except spread hate and division.

The author is an Australia-based freelance writer. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.