Chinese Media Outrage: Responding to Violence against Asians
On March 16, Robert Aaron Long shot and killed eight people, 6 of whom were Asian women, across three different spas in Atlanta. Investigators have not ascertained whether racial prejudice motivated the killings, but the rampage sparked outrage and fear in the Asian-American community and in the media in China, as the shootings follow a pattern of rising hate incidents against Asian-Americans and racially charged rhetoric about the “Chinese virus” and “kung flu.” As American universities endeavor to recruit and retain Chinese international students, it is worthwhile to examine the discourse in China about the incident and explore implications for international admissions offices.
These crimes garnered significant attention in China. Traditional Chinese state media outlets covered the story, but didn’t make the front pages of major publications. On the other hand, the story spread quickly across Wechat groups, Weibo threads, and other social media accounts relevant to international education. The Chinese study overseas community has largely interpreted the story in the context of gun violence in the US and issues of anti-Asian racism in the US. This differs from the US coverage in that much of the discourse in China makes little if any distinction between Asian visiting students and Asian-American immigrants. Compared to stories about violence against other BIPOC individuals in the US and other mass shootings, this story appears to have hit closer to home for Chinese readers, who worry about the safety of sending a family member to study in the US.
What Universities Can Do
We dive into the details below, but universities would do well to speak to some of these concerns about safety and inclusion on campus by:
Posting on social media on Chinese social media accounts about diversity, inclusion, and safety in your community. It might be worth adjusting your social media posting calendar to work in a special features on campus safety statistics, stories of Chinese students feeling welcome on campus, cross-cultural bridge-building, and examples of Sino-US friendship on campus, such as Chinese New Year galas or charity drives to aid those in Wuhan in the early days of pandemic.
Publicizing initiatives and student organizations that work to combat discrimination off campus. These can serve as useful dual arguments: your campus is inclusive and conscious of social justice causes, and your students come together to fight for racial justice when they see it in their broader community. Of course, it’s important to frame these stories in a way that brings out the positive ethic and cause of such activities (a more just society, perhaps), rather than as reactive expressions of anger.
Being prepared to answer questions about safety when you attend Chinese info sessions, college fairs, and webcasts. Recognize that these questions come from an environment of greater concern among parents about safety in the US and that these concerns come from a steady stream of concerning news about racism and violence. Having accurate, current statistics and powerful individual stories about safety on campus will equip you to succeed in answering these questions.
Act as an individual in doing what you can to act as an ally and supporter of BIPOC groups in your community. Do your part, however you can, to listen and understand the pain that these events cause, and support groups and causes you feel are doing the right thing to fight injustice and racism in your area.
Traditional Media Coverage of the Story
As the shooting happened just on the heels of a meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, updates from the high-level talks took front page headlines that week, but the stories were covered by all major Chinese state media outlets. Coverage directly referred to the shootings as hate crimes and mostly centered around the US’s history of xenophobia towards Asians, as well as the growing Stop Asian Hate movement. Very few articles connected discrimination against Asian Americans to broader issues of racism in the US surrounding police brutality and events inspiring the Black Lives Matter movement.
For instance, the China Daily wrote that “the killings followed a year of mounting anti-Asian violence in the United States, which community leaders say is due to Asian Americans being blamed for the coronavirus.” Meanwhile, China News suggested that the United States united and mobilized against anti-Asian bias. It discussed Stop AAPI Hate, which reported nearly 3800 hate incidents against AAPI individuals from March 2020 to February 2021, with ⅔ directed against Asian women, and quoted Vice President Kamala Harris saying that white supremacy and racism have long permeated the US’s reality.
Similarly, Xinhua Net quoted several Asian Americans citing fear of leaving their homes or operating their businesses: “Asian Americans are afraid to go out of their homes, not only because they are worried about the epidemic, but also because they face real threats,” Frank Wu, president of Queens College in NY, said. “They are worried that they will be criticized for spreading the pandemic or retaliated against when walking on the streets or doing business. The epidemic has even been retaliated against.” Xinhua’s coverage also described some efforts towards change, including calls to nominate an Asian attorney general in California and broader Congressional hearings.
The Story, Refracted, Spread, and Somewhat Distorted on Chinese Social Media
The narrative around the Atlanta shootings was different on Weibo, Zhihu, and WeChat, where content is user-generated. Although many people similarly called on Asians to mobilize against discrimination and celebrated Stop Asian Hate demonstrations, condemnation of racism in the US was also coupled with greater anti-American political rhetoric. One account on WeChat that caters to international students argued that hate crimes are “the result of how the United States and other Western countries describe Asians: ‘they are a virus’, ’they are cowardly’, ‘they don't care about politics’.” In fact, “this kind of childish thinking is exactly the foolishness that the United States has cultivated day after day by brainwashing.” The article balanced this condemnation with pictures of anti-discrimination demonstrations around the country and American celebrities’ posts defending the Asian community. The article amassed over 100,000 reads and over a thousand likes.
Many people expressed compassion towards Asian Americans. One person on Zhihu denounced the attack as classist, stating that the victims were loyal taxpayers who pursued the American Dream with dignity: “Americans are not grateful to them, and only American bullets greet them. The United States today is moving farther and faster on the road of fascist racism.” Another said that America was “stupid” for not recognizing the sacrifices of immigrants, as Asian immigrants love America even more than native-born Americans do.
Similarly, some were frustrated that the Americans were not doing enough to address these hate incidents. One user wrote that “Compared with BLM, there are not many American upper-class figures who stand up for Asia. The police killed the black people, and a bunch of American celebrities came out to mourn. What about Asians, Chinese people?... In previous years, a large number of American movie stars stood up and condemned the practice of eating dog meat in China with tears. It turns out that in the eyes of Americans, Asian Americans are not as good as Chinese dogs.”
Many other people swiftly blamed former president Donald Trump and the proliferation of guns in the United States. On Weibo, one user wrote “the white police chief in charge of the case said: (the perpetrator) is "just in a bad mood"... This is Trump's legacy.” Another person claimed that Biden and Trump supporters took guns out into the streets to confront each other. “Government comes out of the barrel of a gun?” he mused.
Meanwhile, another top post on Zhihu suggested that this shooting was the result of a “smear campaign” against China in North America, a campaign that Asian Americans participated in. Another post with 3,000 likes called for Asians to arm themselves and form an association to retaliate so that others think twice before attacking the Asian community. Accordingly, videos of an elderly Asian woman who used a baseball bat to fight off her attacker amassed widespread praise.
Another popular topic that arose, with direct implications for schools in the United States, is whether Chinese students should study overseas where anti-Asian sentiment is rampant. Users in one popular thread argued that students should consider studying abroad in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and other Asian destinations. They balance job prospects and quality of education against fears: “if I go to many top business schools in the United States, I can get scholarships and so on. But after looking at the locations of those schools, forget it, I'm afraid of getting shot,” one person explained.
In contrast to the vast majority of posts condemning racial discrimination, a small subset of posts dismissed claims of racism. One video presentation alleged that the Democratic party is using the shootings for political capital while crimes Asians perpetrated towards white people and black people have perpetrated towards Asians: “No white people have set off racial hatred against Asians! Instead, it is love and forgiveness!” The video garnered 25,000 views.
Despite this, an INTEAD survey of 20,000 Chinese students and parents reveals that 97% of parents still name the United States as their top choice destination, suggesting these events haven’t significantly dented demand for a US education. However, 77% did report that greater governmental friendliness towards Chinese students would ease their decision-making process.