Beware of those using racism as a political tool

Commentary 

As the novel coronavirus spread across the world, some people in other countries began using racist terms to describe the virus and the epidemic, with some even attacking people of Asian origin, especially Chinese origin. So people across the world should be vigilant against such discriminatory behavior, and governments should punish such offenders. Following are the views of two experts, first published in the People’s Daily and Guangming Daily, on racial discrimination

Bigotry and discrimination endanger social harmony

If the novel coronavirus is only a virus that endangers people’s health and life, then racism is a virus that endangers social harmony. With the epidemic spreading across the world, some people of Asian descent have faced racist and xenophobic attacks linked to the virus, including malicious defamation, denial of service and violence, in some Western countries.

For example, at the critical time of China’s fight against the epidemic, a Danish media outlet published a cartoon insulting China, two Australian media outlets directly linked the virus with China. Some people in some Western countries even attacked people of Chinese, even other Asian, origin. Worse, some politicians in certain countries have from time to time linked the novel coronavirus with China, in a bid to stigmatize the country.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly emphasized that the use of any term linking the novel coronavirus to a specific race, country or religion should be avoided. And the United Nations has said that deliberately linking a place or race with the virus has its roots in racism and xenophobia, while also contributing to these tendencies.

Some UN officials have even said that those trying to blame the novel coronavirus on a particular country or ethnic group are the same people who are fanning nationalist and populist passions in their countries, and using racism and xenophobia as their political tools.

To be honest, even some Western people have condemned the use of such offensive and obnoxious terms, and asked the offenders to stop stigmatizing China.

The roots of World War II could be traced to the so-called belief in purity of race. By propagating ethnic superiority and inciting xenophobia, the fascists eventually dragged the world into a catastrophic war. Drawing lessons from such experiences, the UN has adopted a number of documents and conventions to end all forms of racial discrimination.

As some UN officials have said, the novel coronavirus is not just a threat to public health, it is a virus that could also fuel hatred and xenophobia. The novel coronavirus can cause epidemic outbreaks which can be contained, but the virus of prejudice will unleash a pandemic of discrimination and political antagonism which will be nearly impossible to control.

Global unity needed to contain pandemic

In 1966, the UN declared March 21 as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, calling on the international community to redouble its efforts to end all forms of racial discrimination. But at a time when the coronavirus epidemic is wreaking havoc around the world, global cooperation to take on the epidemic has been marred by rampant racism and xenophobia in some Western countries. So high has been the intensity of racism in some countries that some UN officials had to ask those governments to take strict measures to stop them.

In fact, the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic will weaken if the emergence of racism and xenophobia goes unchecked. For example, racism will undermine the global solidarity that is desperately needed to effectively contain the outbreak.

Given that a pandemic is a threat to humankind as a whole, we can effectively contain it only if the world puts up a united front against it. But rising racism and xenophobia in some countries are undermining that unity and delaying the mobilization of global resources needed to fight the virus. This could make the world pay a bigger price in terms of human lives and health.

The novel coronavirus is a common challenge facing humankind, and requires the international community to work together to tackle it. Following the basic concept of a community with a shared future for humankind, China, after having largely contained the virus at home, has been providing help for other countries to combat the epidemic, including offering some countries reagent test kits, face masks and other medical supplies, sending medical teams to others, and sharing with the world its epidemic prevention and control experience and practices.

The pandemic reminds us that the fate and welfare of all countries are closely linked. In the face of a global public health crisis, all countries should take measures to eliminate racism and xenophobia, and remain vigilant against the manipulations of those using racism and xenophobia as political tools to fulfill their narrow political agenda.

Hao Yaming, a research fellow at the Center for Human Rights Studies, Nankai University, Tianjin