White Supremacists, Yellow Peril & “Chinese Virus” Add to a Volatile Political Mix

Credit: United Nations By Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Mar 24 2020 (IPS) When US President Donald Trump repeatedly characterized the fast-spreading COVID-19 as a “Chinese virus” last week, it prompted some white supremacists to resurrect an age old ethnic slur against Chinese and East Asians: the “Yellow Peril” which, in a bygone era, was touted as a xenophobic threat to the Western world. But Tendayi Achiume, UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia, is highly critical of the racist interpretation to a disease which has claimed over 16,500 deaths worldwide and accounted for more than 378,000 infections, with the epicenter shifting from China to Europe. Singling out Trump, she said: it’s dismaying, however, “to witness State officials—including the President of the United States—adopting alternative names for the COVID-19 coronavirus”. “Instead of using the internationally recognized name of the virus, these officials have adopted names with geographic references, typically referring to its emergence in China,” said Achiume, who is Assistant Professor of Law at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law. “This sort of calculated use of a geographic-based name for this virus is rooted in, and fosters, racism and xenophobia. In this case, it serves to isolate and stigmatize individuals who are, or are perceived to be, of Chinese or other East Asian descent”, she added. Meanwhile, white s...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Featured Global Global Geopolitics Global Governance Headlines Health Human Rights IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Peace TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news