world

Coronavirus outbreak stokes anti-Asian bigotry worldwide

43 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

43 Comments
Login to comment

Flu viruses can develop anywhere on Earth. Over 100 years ago there was the Spanish flu which took more lives than WW1. I got the Russian flu as a kid. Stoking up anti-Chinese/Oriental/Asian bigotry is stupid to the max - esp. over something like this! A flu is everybody's problem, face the facts!

16 ( +19 / -3 )

Yes, many people are stupid, is it still worthy of a news though ?

6 ( +9 / -3 )

Outrageous racism on display. Stick to the facts - anyone of ANY ethnicity can catch and spread this dreadful virus.

In calling on bans from flights from PRC, this is not racism. ALL races and nationalities that have been to PRC in past 14 days should be banned or quarantined. Its common-sense.

On Feb 4 in Bolivia, three Japanese tourists in their 20s visiting the Uyuni salt flats were quarantined at a local hospital, despite having no history of traveling to China

It really shows incredible stupidity and lack of education that this could have happened.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Hate to say this, but fear and ignorance are not limited to Japanese!

-6 ( +11 / -17 )

Some are some isolated cases of blatant racism, but most of people are only sincerely scared and mass hysteria is fueled by the same press and governments that later accuse citizens of racism. This is what happens in Europe.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

Haters always gonna hate.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

@akerusan

Yes, many people are stupid, is it still worthy of a news though ?

If you were a Japanese person who had, for the past several months, been planning for a trip abroad around now (as in the case of someone I know), knowing such things might make you reconsider your plans, or at least make a mental note that there could be some unpleasantness. For newsworthiness, it certainly rates above the dog toilet at Itami airport story, if you ask me.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

I sometimes can't blame them. There are videos online of prc china-nese deliberately spitting on people, spitting on elevator buttons, public property, etc.  Go search. Tik Tok has several of these. There's even a video of a china guy who licks his hands with his saliva, sneaks up behind unsuspecting china-nese women, and rubs that hand on their clothes without them realizing it.

The manager urged her to leave her home and to isolate herself elsewhere because she had traveled to China, although she had no signs of the coronavirus and had not been issued an order to vacate her dwelling by any public authority

This new, mysterious virus doesn't always show the symptoms. It sometimes attacks suddenly. She may not have signs of the Wuhan virus...for now; but that doesn't mean she doesn't have it. Or spread it to others in the building.

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

Hey, it could be worse. My friend who just looks Chinese (we're Filipino) gets discriminated on by fellow Filipinos just because he sniffles from time to time because he has allegies. Ignorance and racism mixes well like gasoline and gel for napalm, discrimination is harder to put out than plain idiocy

13 ( +13 / -0 )

Flu viruses can develop anywhere on Earth. Over 100 years ago there was the Spanish flu which took more lives than WW1. I got the Russian flu as a kid. Stoking up anti-Chinese/Oriental/Asian bigotry is stupid to the max - esp. over something like this! A flu is everybody's problem, face the facts!

How many of the flu viruses that you mention were brought about by greed & the gluttony of a certain group of people who feel a need to stuff their faces with bats, snakes, dogs, wolf puppies and other 'exotic' slaughtered animals at dirty, unhygenic wet markets?

Another reason for the backlash againt china-nese is because they never learnt their previous lesson from SARS. Chinese government officials did not inform the World Health Organization of the outbreak until February 2003. This lack of openness caused delays in efforts to control the epidemic, resulting in criticism of the People's Republic of China from the international community.

And they did the same thing for this new Wuhan virus. A hero doctor was arrested by the CCP for telling the truth and has now sadly died .

Can you blame people for not trusting china-nese?

-3 ( +8 / -11 )

Lack of information, panic, ignorance.

All these things combined make the worst out of this situation, it is really a shame whats happening worldwide.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Definitely been an uptick in racism.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

 It’s not all Asians though, just Chinese

To be fair to Chinese, eating bats does not seem limited to them. The famous video of the woman eating bat soup was traced to Palau, Micronesia, where it is a "delicacy".

9 ( +11 / -2 )

YubaruToday  04:22 pm JST

Hate to say this, but fear and ignorance are not limited to Japanese!

Not just "not limited", but racism is far more abundant and rampant, and in many cases more overt, in other countries besides Japan. And that includes northeast asia, north america and western europe. Anyone who doesn't believe this simply hasn't been around the world.

These people in the article are indeed afraid of the Coronavirus, but they are letting that fear serve as an excuse for blatant racist behavior. And of course to non-asian people, all asians look the same so they must all be Chinese and infected. A false assumption in many cases.

-1 ( +10 / -11 )

These incidents are gonna happen regardless if there is a virus outbreak or not.. Some people are just racist... This is just the world we live in.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Another false headline. People are more aware of Asian people and are showing paranoia and fear and even ignorance. There is no basis for accusations of racism or bigotry. Had this started in Africa then the paranoia would be directed at those with dark skin. If it had started in Canada then Caucasian people would be the focus.

The only reason race is a factor is that there is more than one racial type and the type that the virus originated in is going to be the focus. That does not excuse ignorance or lack of manners or the application of good sense. People get scared and show it in their actions.

-12 ( +1 / -13 )

To attribute general stupidity and racisnm to the virus is stretching it.  Just gives dimwits another excuse to act on their bigotry.  not like there has been a mass outbreak following the virus.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

The Japanese and other Asians had the same reaction to white people during the AIDS scare. Plus ca change.

4 ( +11 / -7 )

The Japanese and other Asians had the same reaction to white people during the AIDS scare

Actually even white people ( and Black) had the same reaction to white people during the AIDS scare. Ever watch the Tom Hanks movie Philadelphia?

5 ( +9 / -4 )

U can tell the level of the country by it*s people actions at critical situations. I will not waste my money in those countries. Live in yr own ignorant world.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

A Jewish man in a bar punches the Asian guy next to him and says that was for Pearl Harbor. Chinese says that was the Japanese I am Chinese. Jew says Chinese, Japanese all the same to me. So, the Chinaman punches the Jew and says that was for the Titanic. Jew says that was an iceberg. Chinaman says Iceberg, Goldberg all the same to me.

-5 ( +10 / -15 )

How many of the flu viruses that you mention were brought about by greed

& the gluttony of a certain group of people who feel a need to

stuff their faces with bats, snakes, dogs, wolf puppies and other

'exotic' slaughtered animals at dirty, unhygenic wet markets?

Where did the Spanish flu originated?Not China

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Racism and bigotry are indeed part of the human condition, but I haven't seen any signs of anti-Asian bias yet. Had lunch at a Chinese restaurant yesterday, no problems evident. Asians probably make up 10% or more of the population here in South Cal, and while I am not everywhere at all times, I myself have not seen any indications of bias.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Not just "not limited", but racism is far more abundant and rampant, and in many cases more overt, in other countries besides Japan. And that includes northeast asia, north america and western europe. Anyone who doesn't believe this simply hasn't been around the world.

This is the logical fallacy of a false duality. There are other reasons to not believe this statement, such as the source being an unabashed Japanophile or it simply being not true.

Show me a place in North America that is open to the public and had no foreigner signs. I can take to to numerous places in Kabukicho right now with that sign. Shall I go on? (Sorry, but we won’t rent to foreigners . . .)

-2 ( +8 / -10 )

Not just "not limited", but racism is far more abundant and rampant, and in many cases more overt, in other countries besides Japan. And that includes northeast asia, north america and western europe. Anyone who doesn't believe this simply hasn't been around the world.

Incredible that Japan has a reputation for being racist given that it’s far down the league table according to you. I’m from Europe, travelled in Western Europe, lived in the US and spent over a year in China when I add up my business trips in the past. I didn’t spend enough time in South Korea to form an accurate opinion on this. By ‘Northeast Asia’, I suppose you mean China, Korea, Japan and maybe Taiwan. Please tell us about your experiences in those countries, particularly regarding racism, or by what metric you are judging racism. You seem to indicate you are well travelled.

I’d say China and Japan lead the racism table in my experience of the places you mentioned. Chinese people and Japanese people share this among many other traits, and honest people from both countries acknowledge the problem these countries have accepting outsiders.

1 ( +10 / -9 )

I will be taking my daughter to Chicago at the end of March. First time we will have left Japan without her father and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly worried. When I took her back to the states and went shopping with her as a baby without my husband with us I got incessant comments in the vein of, Oh what country did you get her fun, Chinese babies are the cutest, you look too young to be able to adopt, it's so brave of you to adopt a little girl from across the world, etc. At the time it was just ignorance, annoying as it was, and I was able to brush it off as I am from a small town and Asian male/White female couples are a rarity.

Now I'm no longer here for it. This will be my 6 year old daughter's 3rd trip back to the States and she will be understanding what people say to her and how people treat her more than before. So god help anybody if they even bring up my daughters race, especially in regards to the virus. I've got too many stressful situations going on in my life right now to deal with this nonsense. ママ don't play.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

I was just reading a news article about Chinese businesses in Canada meeting with three levels of government to help them deal this issue because they claim a loss of 50, 60, 70% in business due to this coronavirus. Now if you know anything about the Metro Vancouver area, all these restaurants mainly cater to the Chinese and their customer base on any given day is more that 95% Chinese so what exactly are they complaining about?

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/covid-19-impacting-some-vancouver-businesses-as-fear-misinformation-spreads-1.4815607

These are Chinese businesses run by Chinese and catering to the Chinese community so are they complaining that Chinese are causing this downturn in their profit? Wouldn't that be racism? Are they not doing exactly the same within their own Chinese community to themselves?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Any bigotry is unacceptable. That includes in Japan, where they are just as way if they think someone is Chinese, or constantly shift the focus of the topic to the flu in the US and seem to blame others for the spread here.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Every year my wife and I go to Boston's Chinatown for their new year celebration and a big meal, when the streets are closed, firecrackers are permitted, and teams of lion dancers make their way trough the neighborhood and into restaurants full of people enjoying the festivities.

Last year, the family of a classmate of my son whose parents are very recent immigrants from China, went along with us and we agreed to make a tradition of it. This year, when I reached out to them to go to the Chinatown celebration, they said "Are you nuts? All those Chinese people in one place right next to an international airport, with all the college students coming back from winter break? We're not going anywhere near Chinatown!"

My point is, the most 'racist' and 'anti-Chinese rhetoric' I've heard since this outbreak began came straight from people who were born and raised in the heart of mainland China. While in my excitement to stuff my face with soup dumplings I threw caution out the window, I don't think that people's desire to keep their families safe needs to be labeled with something that ends in "-ist" or "-phobic", though such is certainly the fad these days.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

A flu is everybody's problem, face the facts!

Yah, but people like to have someone to blame for the problem.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Coronovirus seems to be outwardly a typical flu, with a death rate of 2%, mostly elderly and people with pre-existing diseases. It originated in China, so it is being blown up onto something really scarry to isolate China politically and economically. It is part of the "make in America!" movement of Trump. Scare people away from China. Evidently, they are afraid they can't compete. Promoting this bigotry is for the cause.

-6 ( +2 / -8 )

This isn’t racism - it is fear. And no these two things aren’t directly related. Asians and other Chinese are afraid of people from the affected areas too. People are more afraid than anything else.

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

American has always needed a bogeyman, they have strong laws to protect Asian rights in America, not like Japan, anybody that violate the right of any races of people, should be prosecuted, too fully extent of the law in America

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

The incident involving the Thai guy who got whacked on the nose in London was disgusting.

There's a difference between being scared (as in not really wanting to go to Chinatown) and being downright nasty, whether by making nasty comments out loud on purpose or physically abusing others.

But there's a reason there wasn't as much abuse towards blacks when Ebola was doing the rounds in the news. Those saying nasty things would likely have got a big smack on the face. Asians aren't known for out-right violence, and so they're an easy target. But enough is enough. Someday you will meet an Asian who knows martial arts!

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Fear is often due to ignorance and unfamiliarity.

Ignorance can be corrected, but only if the person wants to learn. This applies to any subject, but it takes time.

The last few weeks has had 2 stories - China is full of a new virus AND Japan has a ship docked with over 3000 people on it with the virus spreading inside.

That's a bunch of fear for people half a world away. Rather than learn more, they summaries inside their mind, be afraid of all Asians. 20 yrs ago, that was probably ok, since Asians didn't travel to most countries in central or south America.

The USA doesn't have this excuse. Asians have been there for 200+ yrs. All I can do is apologize for my fellow Americans stupidity. There is much ignorance around the world, including America.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I bet I know a condo manager in Seattle that's about to get hit by a discrimination lawsuit. And he will lose. Stupid idiot.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I won't lie.

I try to stay away from both Chinese and Japanese right now.

Japan is Wuhan corona virus infested with untraceable random infections popping up across Japan, whether you like to admit it or not.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

don't lie, just put on " I am a bigot" T shirt and i will stay away from you and your kind

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Indeed, fears of a pandemic are causing shocking levels of racism and hysteria. As of Monday, confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus had surpassed 71,000 worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

The majority do not display shocking levels of panic and hysteria but it makes great ‘sensational news’ not to write that...

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Interesting response to the epidemic. It also illustrates the role the MEDIA and the MEDIUM plays in their dissemination of information to the public and the massive social media used by uninformed, misinformed and misdirected as well as the unscrupulous that influence the irrational and emotional members of mostly the uniformed and under or inexperienced immature public. Cannot blame all this on education. Education is but a small part of what people believe.

Sadly it is difficult to correct when much of the major outbreaks of epidemic level diseases, recently, have started from China. One forgets the source locations of other diseases like HIV. That is also understandable since all other sources have identified specific animals or sources as origins and have identified the detailed transmission of such diseases and the methods of control. So far no specific animal origin sources have been identified for any of the diseases originating from China to watch out for and to control. That opens up the possibility for more outbreaks.

Sad too that many cannot distinguish Asians of different countries and still revert back to "race" as a determining factor for many troubles and illnesses.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The USA doesn't have this excuse. Asians have been there for 200+ yrs. All I can do is apologize for my fellow Americans stupidity. There is much ignorance around the world, including America.

Yes, Far Eastern Asian descended people have been in at least the US West Coast + Hawaii for at least 150 - 200 years +. They've been American people for several generations.

> Sad too that many cannot distinguish Asians of different countries and still revert back to "race" as a determining factor for many troubles and illnesses.

Too many Americans think all Oriental people are the same. They are too ignorant to know that the Chinese and Japanese cultures + languages + histories are so different. They don't even realize that Chinese people are a conglomerate of various ethnic groups themselves - Chin, Han, Uighur, Mongol, Ta'ang, Cantonese and more. And never mind the Koreans, Vietnamese, Thais, Khmers of Cambodia and all the rest thruout East Asia. They love to lump people of this race/color group together because they've seen too many movies + TV shows with stereotypical characters and they read too many storybooks.

>

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites