by David Tianxing Li at Maple Lotus Times
You can read the article entertainingly on their social media accounts!
Asian-Canadians make up 20% of all Canadians, and Chinese Canadians make up nearly 5% of the total Canadian population. However, anti-Asian hate and sinophobia are still major issues that our society faces today.
Sinophobia is the irrational fear or hate towards China: its government, culture, people, as well as Chinese influence in general.
While it is within people’s right to have their own views about the Chinese government, it is not within their right to turn these views on the Chinese-Canadians in our community.
When this hate towards the government turns into a discrimination against Chinese-Canadians who make up 5% of our society, sinophobia becomes a problem that our society needs to immediately address.
Sinophobia has infested our society on much deeper levels than we commonly recognize. Any act that attacks someone for their race, ethnicity, culture, or origin is an act of racism, and equally, any act that attacks a Chinese-Canadian for their origin is an example of sinophobia.
One common example is assuming that all Chinese-Canadians come from China. In reality, many Chinese-Canadians have spent their whole lives in Canada, and don’t think of China as their home at all. Why should they?
Second, third generation Chinese immigrants have as much a right to call Canada their home as any other Canadian, and so assuming that they can just “go back to China” is a disturbingly common example of racism.
Another example of blatant sinophobia is viewing Chinese people as an extension of the Chinese government. Canada has made this mistake before when she incarcerated her Japanese citizens in the infamous Japanese Internment Camps during World War II for no other reason other than their race.
We are going down the same path again.
Chinese people are often falsely associated with the Chinese government, mocked as possible spies, and assumed to support the Chinese Communist Party. In reality, many immigrants moved to Canada specifically to leave the Chinese government’s control. And even those that didn’t are no more prone to becoming a Chinese spy than the average Canadian.
Racism needs to be addressed.
Sinophobia needs to be addressed.
Join us in our search for a solution.
The cover photo was illustrated by THE GLOBE AND MAIL.
Maple Lotus Times is a non-profit platform dedicated to fostering unity, combating xenophobia, and highlighting valuable Asian contributions in Canadian society through engaging, concise, and impactful content.
Disclaimer：
Voices & Bridges publishes opinions like this from the community to encourage constructive discussion and debate on important issues. Views represented in the articles are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the V&B.