Asian racism in US $ AngloSaxon world

Asian racism: Does the Fu Manchu myth still haunt Western thinking? By Elizabeth Mearns 03-22-23Show more

When we think about racism in Europe and America we grapple with images of the slave trade, the horror of the holocaust and more recently Islamophobia. We think little about the problem of racism against Asians.

But in 2020, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw an explosion of anti-Asian hate that took many in the West by surprise. Conspiracy theories about China's role in the pandemic were everywhere, being trotted out by world leaders and trusted media establishments.

Since then, China has again become routinely described as a 'threat' by media and politicians – and now old stereotypes are freely discussed amongst people who would not consider themselves racists. So how much of this is real and how much is based on anti-Asian racism that can be traced back hundreds of years?