Sinophobia (from Ancient Greek Sinae "the Chinese" + Ancient Greek φόβος, phobos, "fear") or anti-Chinese sentiment is the fear of or dislike of China, its people, overseas Chinese, or Chinese Culture.[2] It often targets Chinese minorities living outside of China and is complicated by the dilemma of immigration, development of national identity in neighbouring countries, disparity of wealth, fall of the past central tribute system and majority-minority relations. Its opposite is Sinophilia.
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Anti-Chinese sentiment in India began soon after the war between India and China in 1962. Recently, the competition between India and China on economic and military fronts as well as territorial dispute between the two nations and with China supporting Pakistan in Kashmir have contributed a lot to anti-Chinese sentiment.
Anti-Chinese sentiment in Southeast Asian countries is often rooted in socio-economics. Chinese traders from the coast of mainland China and refugees of the Punti-Hakka Clan Wars in China emigrated throughout Southeast Asia countries and eventually became the majority population of Singapore, a large minority in Malaysia and Thailand, and small (less than 5% of the total population) minority groups in Indonesia and the Philippines. A tradition of trading and self-reliance enabled the Chinese to prosper in these countries despite widespread discrimination. This perceived clannish attitude among the immigrants and their descendants and the ethnic group's relative wealth and success fueled Sinophobic sentiment.
In countries with small Chinese minorities, the economic disparity can be remarkable. For example, in 1998, ethnic Chinese made up just 1% of the population of the Philippines and 3% of the population in Indonesia, but controlled 40% of the Philippines' private economy and 70% of the Indonesian private economy (Indonesian analysts believe this is a false claim since most of Indonesia's wealth was controlled by the military.） [3] In Malaysia the low birth rate of Chinese decreased its relative population from one half to one third. One study of the Chinese as a so-called "market-dominant minority" notes that "Chinese market dominance and intense resentment amongst the indigenous majority is characteristic of virtually every country in Southeast Asia".[4]
This asymmetrical economic position has incited anti-Chinese sentiment among the poorer majorities. Sometimes the anti-Chinese attitudes turn violent, such as the May 13 Incident in Malaysia in 1969 and the Jakarta riots of May 1998 in Indonesia,[5] in which more than 2,000 people died. During the colonial era, some genocides killed ten thousands of Chinese.[6][7][8][9][10] During the Indonesian killings of 1965–66, in which more than 500,000 people died,[11] ethnic Chinese were killed and their properties looted and burned as a result of anti-Chinese racism on the excuse that Dipa "Amat" Aidit had brought the PKI closer to China.[12][13] In the Philippines, dozens of Chinese are kidnapped every year and may be killed regardless of ransom—a problem the ethnic Filipino police are often indifferent to.[14]
Sinophobia is also codified in some Southeast Asian countries. The anti-Chinese legislation was in the Indonesian constitution until 1998.
Due to a thousand years of Chinese occupation and recent territory disputes in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, there are anti-Chinese sentiments among the Vietnamese population.[15][16] While the government tries to maintain friendly ties with the Chinese government by cracking down on anti-Chinese demonstrations and criticisms regarding China, anti-Chinese sentiments had spiked in 2007 after China formed an administration in the disputed islands,[16] in 2009 when the Vietnamese government allowed the Chinese aluminium manufacturer Chinalco the rights to mine for bauxite in the Central Highlands,[17][18][19] and when Vietnamese fishermen were detained by Chinese security forces while seeking refuge in the disputed territories.[20] In 2011, following a spat in which a Chinese Marine Surveillance ship damaged a Vietnamese geologic survey ship off the coast of Vietnam, some Vietnamese travel agencies boycotted Chinese destinations or refused to serve customers with Chinese citizenship.[21] Hundreds of people protested in front of the Chinese embassy in Hanoi and the Chinese consulate in Ho Chi Minh City against Chinese naval operations in the South China Sea before being dispersed by the police.[22]
The Sino-Vietnamese War resulted in the discrimination and consequent emigration of the country's ethnic Chinese, many of whom fled as "boat people". From 1978 to 1979, some 450,000 ethnic Chinese left Vietnam by boat (mainly former South Vietnam citizens fleeing the Vietcong) as refugees or were expelled across the land border with China.[23]
According to journalist Daniel Groos, Sinophobia is omnipresent in modern Vietnam, where "from school kids to government officials, China-bashing is very much in vogue." According to Groos a majority of Vietnamese resent the import and usage of Chinese products, considering them distinctly low status.[24]
In 2000, Tongan noble Tu’ivakano of Nukunuku banned Chinese stores from his Nukunuku District in Tonga. This followed complaints from other shopkeepers regarding competition from local Chinese.[25] In 2001, Tonga's Chinese community (a population of about three or four thousand people) was hit by a wave racist assaults. The Tongan government did not renew the work permits of more than 600 Chinese storekeepers, and has admitted the decision was in response to “widespread anger at the growing presence of the storekeepers”.[26]
In 2006, rioters damaged shops owned by Chinese-Tongans in Nukuʻalofa.[27][28]
In 2006, Honiara's Chinatown suffered damage when it was looted and burned by rioters following a contested election. Ethnic Chinese businessmen were falsely blamed for bribing members of the Solomon Islands' Parliament. The government of Taiwan was the one that supported the then current government of the Soloman Islands. The Chinese businessmen were mainly small traders from mainland China and had no interest in local politics.[27]
From 1866 to 1869, during Japan's Meiji Restoration, Japan was able to catch up with the progress of western nations. Meanwhile, China was sinking into a state of deep dysfunction. Although Yukichi Fukuzawa refused to recognize China as a bad friend in Datsu-A Ron, translated to "Argument for Leaving Asia", this was not the prevailing attitude and the discriminating consciousness to China remained.
These Sinophobic sentiments fueled the Imperial soldiers' atrocities committed against the Chinese during World War II, of which the Nanking Massacre was an example. The Second Sino-Japanese War claimed the lives of more than 20 million Chinese, mostly civilian.
After World War II, the relationship between China and Japan gradually improved. However, since 2000, Japan has seen a gradual resurgence of anti-Chinese sentiments. Many Japanese believe that China is using the issue of the countries' checkered history, such as the Japanese history textbook controversies and official visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, both as a diplomatic card and to make Japan a scapegoat in domestic politics.[29] The Anti-Japanese Riots in Spring of 2005 also were a source of more anger towards China within the Japanese public. Anti-Chinese sentiments in Japan have been on a sharp rise since 2002. According to Pew Global Attitude Project (2008), unfavorable view of China was 84%, unfavorable view of Chinese people was 73%.[30]
China and Korea have a long history of conflicts. Conventionally, Chinese are seen as assuming Koreans to be part of a sinocentric East Asian regional order.[31] Chinese also emphasize hierarchy within their sinocentric order, where China is at the top of the hierarchy. In contrast, Koreans reject the sinocentric East Asian regional order and emphasize equality in diplomatic relations in East Asia. This rejection leads to conflict of existential identities, threatening the very meaning of being Korean and Chinese. Koreans and Chinese are seen as engaging in a relationship of negative interdependence, potentially comparable to Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[31]
During the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BCE - 668), Goguryeo, which ruled northern Korean peninsula and Manchuria, was attacked by many Chinese dynasties, including Han, Wei, Yan, Sui, and Tang Dynasty - many of these punitive expeditions for emergent ties between Goguryeo and the Gokturks. In 7th century, Baekje and Silla, which were located in the southern Korean peninsula, was in a raid by Chinese Tang Dynasty. These expeditions, led to anger in the public. Koreans also resented China's intervention in the circumstances both inside and outside the Korean Peninsula.[32]
In the 9th century, Chinese pirates infested the coastal Yellow Sea waters of Korean Silla, preying on the Korean peninsula to kidnap people to sell as slaves in China. This resulted in "protests" from the Korean court.[33][34] The Korean admiral Jang Bogo established of Cheonghaejin garrison, and Jang's force sweep the Chinese pirates from the western coast of Korea.[34]
The early Ming dynasty of China demanded rare animals, food, concubines[35] and eunuchs[36] as tribute from Korean Joseon Dynasty. However, gifts were given in return as part of the Chinese tributary system.
In 1592, Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi plotting the conquest of Ming dynasty China, and then invaded to Joseon Dynasty Korea as a part of his ambition. Japanese army occupied many parts of the Korean peninsula within months but some region. Korean court has officially requested aid from Ming China, and Chinese army pushed back the Japanese with Koreans. However, Some Chinese soldiers did not distinguish between Korean civilians and the Japanese. This led to the indiscriminate killing of Korean civilians, looted the property of Koreans, rape women and even attacked Korean forces sometimes. As a result, these Chinese actions gave cause for anti-Chinese sentiment among the Korean populace.[37][38]
In 1931, there was a dispute between Chinese and Korean (From 1910 to 1945, Korea was dominated by Imperial Japan) farmers in Wanpaoshan, Manchuria. Although this issue was trivial, it was highly sensationalized in the Japanese and Korean press, and used with considerable propaganda effect to increase anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan and Korea. It caused series of anti-Chinese riots erupted throughout Korea, starting at Incheon on July 3 and spreading rapidly to other cities. The Chinese claimed that 146 people were killed, 546 wounded, and considerable properties were destroyed. The worst of the rioting occurred in Pyongyang on July 5. Though it was derived from Japanese political trick, Korea's anti-Chinese sentiment has been reflected in the riots.[39]
Anti-Chinese sentiments in South Korea have been on a steady rise since 2002. According to Pew Global Attitude Project, favorable view of China steadily declined from 66% in 2002 to 48% in 2008, while unfavorable view of China rose from 31% in 2002 to 49% in 2008.[40] According to polls by East Asia Institute, positive view of China's influence declined from 48.6% in 2005 to 38% in 2009, while negative view of Chinese influence rose from 46.7% in 2005 to 50% in 2008.[41]
The turning point of rising anti-Chinese sentiments was the Northeast Project, a controversial Chinese government research project claiming Goguryeo and other various Korean kingdoms, including Gojoseon, Buyeo and Balhae, to be Chinese local states and thus part of historical Chinese territory. The conflict erupted after the Chinese Foreign Ministry in April deleted references of the kingdom from the introduction of Korean history on its Web site and that deletion angered many Koreans. Beijing refused to accept Seoul's demand to restore on its Foreign Ministry Web site the part on Korean history including the ancient kingdom. Many historians and officials in Korea believed the row is at a critical stage in diplomatic relations, with Chinese defiance of Korean requests to reinstate acknowledgment of Goguryeo as a Korean kingdom being seen by Seoul as humiliating and threatening to unravel ties between the two neighbors. This sparked a massive uproar in South Korea when the project was widely publicized in 2004.[42] Amid intensifying criticism against China from the Korean government and public, China dispatched its new Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei to Seoul with the Beijing's promise not to distort the Goguryeo history in its textbooks.
During the Seoul leg of the 2008 Olympic torch relay, over 6,000 Chinese students clashed with protesters.[42][43][44] Chinese demonstrators clashed with local activists who rallied to protest the torch relay, citing Beijing's discouraging treatment of North Korea defectors and the regime's crackdown on Tibetans' rioting for independence.[43] With the result of these violence clashes in central Seoul, anti-Chinese sentiments in Korea aroused great indignation toward the Chinese people.[45] The Ministry of Justice of South Korea indicated that it would punish all such demonstrators, regardless of nationality.[46] The Government of South Korea is toughening visa regulations for Chinese students.[47]
There are also other issues that negatively affected sentiments towards China in Korea, such as Made in China controversies, Chinese fishboats illegally trespassing South Korean territorial waters, Political cronyism toward North Korean dictatorship, and Korean point on Anti-Korean sentiment in China.
Mongolians traditionally hold very unfavorable views of China. The common stereotype is that China is trying to undermine Mongolian souvereignity in order to eventually make it part of China (the Republic of China has claimed Mongolia as part of its territory, see Outer Mongolia ). Fear and hatred of erliiz (literally, double seeds), a derogatory term for people of mixed Han Chinese and Mongol ethnicity,[48] is a common phenomena in Mongolian politics. Erliiz are seen as a Chinese plot of "genetic pollution" to chip away at Mongolian sovereignty, and allegations of Chinese ancestry are used as a political weapon in election campaigns - though not always with success.[49][50]. Several Neo-Nazi groups opposing foreign influence, especially China's, are present within Mongolia.[51]
In Russia’s Siberia and the Russian Far East, there is a long-standing dispute over territorial rights, which is thinly woven under the conflicts between two competing homogeneous cultures over limited resources. There is also a perceived fear of a demographic takeover by Chinese immigrants in sparsely populated Russian areas.[52][53]
Like China's perception in other countries, China's large population, long history and size has been the subject of fear somewhat. China has figured in the Western imagination in a number of different ways as being a very large civilization existing for many centuries with a very large population; however the weakness of China in the beginning of the modern age, rise of People's Republic of China after the Chinese Civil War has dramatically changed the perception of China from a relatively positive light to negative because of the fear of communism in the West, and repeated public accusations against China of human rights abuses.
The European view towards China from the exotic descriptions of The Travels of Marco Polo developed into a patronising superiority as the West (later including Japan) attempted to extend their colonial empires into China. Successful attempts in exporting opium into the Chinese Empire and a series of other commercial and military successes exposed to colonial powers a political fact: China's culture appeared glorious, but its government showed weaknesses that could be exploited for commercial and cultural gain.[54]
Sinophobia became more common as China was becoming a major source of immigrants for the west (including the American West).[55] Numerous Chinese immigrants to North America were attracted by wages offered by large railway companies in the late 19th century as the companies built the transcontinental railroads.
Sinophobic policies (such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, anti-Chinese zoning laws and restrictive covenants, the policies of Richard Seddon, and the White Australia policy) and pronouncements on the "yellow peril" were in evidence as late as the mid-20th century in the Australia, United States, Canada, and New Zealand.
The Chinese population was active in political and social life in Australia. Community leaders protested against discriminatory legislation and attitudes, and despite the passing of the Immigration Restriction Act in 1901, Chinese communities around Australia participated in parades and celebrations of Australia's Federation and the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York.
Although the Chinese communities in Australia were generally peaceful and industrious, resentment flared up against them because of their different customs and traditions. In the mid 19th century, terms such as "dirty, disease ridden, [and] insect-like" were used in Australia and New Zealand to describe the Chinese.[56]
A poll tax was passed in Victoria in 1855 to restrict Chinese immigration. New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia followed suit. Such legislation did not distinguish between naturalised, British citizens, Australian-born and Chinese-born individuals. The tax in Victoria and New South Wales was repealed in the 1860s, but by the 1880s there was another wave of anti-Chinese sentiment. Despite a steady decline in the number of Chinese residents in Australia, the numbers of Chinese and Chinese-Australians in the more visible Chinatowns of Melbourne and Sydney were growing. In 1887, two Chinese Commissioners, the first statesmen from China to visit Australia, arrived to assess the living conditions of Chinese in Australia after numerous requests from Chinese living abroad. In 1888, following protests and strike actions, an inter-colonial conference agreed to reinstate and increase the severity of restrictions on Chinese immigration. This provided the basis for the 1901 Immigration Restriction Act and the seed for the White Australia Policy, which although relaxed over time, was not fully abandoned until the early 1970s.
In 1850s, sizable numbers of Chinese immigrants came to British Columbia seeking gold; the region was known to them as Gold Mountain. Starting in 1858, Chinese "coolies" were brought to Canada to work in the mines and on the Canadian Pacific Railway. However, they were denied by law the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote, and in the 1880s, "head taxes" were implemented to curtail immigration from China. In 1907, a riot in Vancouver targeted Chinese and Japanese-owned businesses. In 1923, the federal government passed the Chinese Immigration Act, commonly known as the Exclusion Act, prohibiting further Chinese immigration except under "special circumstances". The Exclusion Act was repealed in 1947, the same year in which Chinese Canadians were given the right to vote. Restrictions would continue to exist on immigration from Asia until 1967, when all racial restrictions on immigration to Canada were repealed, and Canada adopted the current points based immigration system. On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered an apology and compensation only for the head tax once paid by Chinese immigrants.[57] Survivors or their spouses were paid approximately CAD$20,000 in compensation.[58]
The 2008 Olympic torch relay leg in Paris, activists claiming allegiance to Tibetan independence and human rights repeatedly attempted to disrupt, hinder or halt the procession.[59]
Starting with the California Gold Rush in the late 19th century, the United States—particularly the West Coast states—imported large numbers of Chinese migrant laborers. Early Chinese immigrant worked as gold miners, and later on subsequent large labor projects, such as the building of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The decline of the Qing Dynasty in China caused many Chinese to emigrate overseas in search of a more stable life, and this coincided with the rapid growth of American industry. The Chinese were considered by employers as "reliable" workers who would continue working, without complaint, even under destitute conditions.[60]
Chinese migrant workers encountered considerable prejudice in the United States, especially by the people who occupied the lower layers in white society, because Chinese "coolies" were used as a scapegoat for depressed wage levels by politicians and labor leaders.[61] Cases of physical assaults on the Chinese include the Chinese massacre of 1871 in Los Angeles and the murder of Vincent Chin. The 1909 murder of Elsie Sigel in New York, of which a Chinese person was suspected, was blamed on the Chinese in general and led to physical violence. "The murder of Elsie Sigel immediately grabbed the front pages of newspapers, which portrayed Chinese men as dangerous to "innocent" and "virtuous" young white women. This murder led to a surge in the harassment of Chinese in communities across the United States."[62]
Italian-Americans and Irish-Americans, who had once been subject to similar prejudice themselves, were often involved in such assaults, believing that their condition had been worsened by the influx of Chinese laborers.
The emerging American trade unions, under such leaders as Samuel Gompers, also took an outspoken anti-Chinese position,[63] regarding Chinese laborers as competitors to white laborers. Only with the emergence of the international trade union, IWW, did trade unionists start to accept Chinese workers as part of the American working-class.[64]
In the 1870s and 1880s various legal discriminatory measures were taken against the Chinese. These laws, in particular the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, were aimed at restricting further immigration from China.[65] although the laws were later repealed by the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943. In particular, even in his lone dissent against Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), then-Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote of the Chinese as: "a race so different from our own that we do not permit those belonging to it to become citizens of the United States. Persons belonging to it are, with few exceptions, absolutely excluded from our country. I allude to the Chinese race."[66]
In the United States elections, 2010, a significant number[68] of negative advertisements from both major political parties focused on a candidates' alleged support for free trade with China. Some of the stock images that accompanied ominous voiceovers about China were actually of Chinatown, San Francisco.[69] In particular, an advertisement called "Chinese Professor", which portrays a 2030 conquest of the West by China, used local Asian American extras to play Chinese although the actors were not informed of the nature of the shoot.[70] Columnist Jeff Yang said that in the campaign there was a "blurry line between Chinese and Chinese-Americans".[69] Larry McCarthy, the producer of "Chinese Professor" defended his work by saying that "this ad is about America, it's not about China."[71] Other editorials commenting on the video have called the video not anti-Chinese.[68][71][72]
Multiple presidential candidate Michael Sata has often invoked harsh rhetoric against the Chinese commercial presence in Africa's largest copper producing country. Though he failed to win elections thrice, he won the 2011 election. Despite toning down his rhetoric, the investment climate for Zambia was read as uncertain.[73]
In 2008 after 8 year court battle the South African Chinese people were recognised as disadvantaged. Fellow South Africans were in denial when prior to 1994 Chinese people were denied rights.
There are a variety of derogatory terms referring to China and Chinese peoples. Many of these terms are viewed as racist. However, these terms do not necessarily refer to the Chinese race as a whole; they can also refer to specific policies, or specific time periods in history.
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