NOTE: Since I published this blog, this has been re-published on Organizing Upgrade and Portside. The original post has been edited since publication, as well.  Thank you for the shares and re-posts.

 

This is a quick read on how to talk about China, Chinese people and COVID19. This is MY perspective and mine alone. Please read my earlier piece on “We are the Majority: Remembering Grace in these times” on building a new kind of solidarity in these times. This one doesn’t have any nice pictures or graphics but maybe a bit more snark. I’ve also been inspired by W. Kamau Bell’s “Me and Bruce Lee Would Like to have a word with you” and Eddie Wong’s “WTF Stop Anti-Asian Hate.”

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1. China is BIG and the people are very diverse. This might be a very obvious point but it needs to be said because… I guess people still lump ALL Chinese people together. There are 1.4 billion people in China, the largest city is Shanghai at 26 million people (fyi San Francisco is only 800,000 people). It is still the largest working class in the world… So when you talk about “China” or “Chinese people,” please do NOT overgeneralize. 

 

2. Chinese identity is complex, to say the least. I’m NOT the greatest fan of Confucianism, but on our sabbatical in Vietnam, I was reminded by a Vietnamese OG revolutionary that Chinese (East Asian) thought came long before western thought (ie Socrates and Plato) on the role of the people (man) and state. Over thousands (I mean thousands) of years many Chinese have struggled, died over and killed others to defend and advance that identity and state. Yet, it is still one of the most contested identities in the modern world.  For example, while officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, the Hong Kong democracy movement has faced repressive measures from the government and formed their own version of Hong Kong nativism and nationalism, albeit not always progressive.

 

3. The Chinese government is also very big and not monolithic. Contrary to what many have heard, the people in the Chinese government are not authoritarian robots but a set of complicated relationships and interests. Although this has consolidated more under Xi Jinping, there are capitalists, feminists, socialists and Maoists and others. It is not just a left-right spectrum of politics but a multidimensional and geopolitical one. And please, don’t believe the hype. Let’s not fall for the anti-China Trump backed Falun Gong or Epoch Times or Pro-China tankie groups dismissing the anti-blackness in China. Just be a little more rigorous about what you read and post. 

 

4. Critiques of the Chinese government are valid but not in a vacuum. COVID-19 may have originated in China and there is evidence of initial mishandling, but blaming and shaming is not the solution. US government and corporate elites have their own failings and lies of man-made wars that have killed millions. Let’s not fall into Trump’s right wing narrative and xenophobia trap. For example, the US government waited 70 days after initial warnings and targeted only Chinese in New York when studies now show the majority of cases came from Europe. And, not that we should but it does not appear that anyone is blaming Italians or any other Europeans for their poor handling of the coronavirus. Just sayin.’

 

5. China’s wildlife and traditional medicine industry is a product of global capitalism. Although some practices root from Chinese traditional medicine, it is now a $70-plus billion industry that preys on global poverty and, Chinese culture for profit. A single pangolin is worth up to 3 month’s wages for rural villagers in Thailand. This is a product of global capitalism not “Chinese culture.”

 

6. In the end, US transnational corporations will benefit the most. Last week, 10 billionaires added a total of $51 billion to their fortunes. Meanwhile, unemployment claims in the US soared to 30 million. From insider trading to corporate bailouts, we should follow the money and monitor how disaster capitalism flows through this crisis. This should not be a surprise. Even before the COVID19 crisis, U.S. transnational corporations profited not only from cheap labor but also domestic consumerism in China. Last year alone, Apple brought in more than $260 billion in revenue; China is also Apple’s 3rd largest market behind the US and Europe accounting for 20% of its revenue. KFC and GM sell more chicken and cars (separately) in China too.

 

7. Spread solidarity not blame, fear or hate. While Chinese and Asians appear to be the most visible scapegoats right now in the US, the Chinese government is targeting Africans, the Hindu right is blaming Muslims for the coronavirus, and the white nationalists are also blaming Jews for the coronavirus, the list goes on. We need to end the cycle of hate. This only helps white nationalism and white supremacy! Let’s thread a new kind of international solidarity in these times. 

 

8. Protect “essential” and ALL workers. From medical workers to food service, farm and factory workers, we need sufficient worker protections to slow the spread of this virus. Workers are dying literally to keep this economy going. Also, public institutions that feed and educate our communities are often forgotten until a crisis like this. Let’s remember the role of ALL workers when they are not seen as “essential” anymore in the new normal. 

 

9. Global cooperation and interdependence is the solution! Lift up US-China cooperation that is ALREADY happening. Eddie Wong said it best in his latest article, “Let’s take our lead from the hard-working doctors, nurses, and support staff struggling to save lives despite inadequate protection and equipment. Let’s promote the doctors and scientists who are cooperating internationally to find ways to stop the pandemic.” (here are some examples he listed.) 

    1. Chinese scientists posted the genetic sequencing code of Covid-19 to the world scientific community on January 10, 2020. This has enabled the design of diagnostic kits all over the world and provided the basic research scientists need to develop a vaccine.
    2. Harvard University doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital are working in conjunction with peers at Xijing Hospital and two other hospitals in northern Italy on the use of nitricoxide to treat coronavirus patients.
    3. BioNTech, a German company, is working with Pfizer, an American-owned multi-national corporation, and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical on developing four vaccines that will undergo human trials with 200 subjects in May.

 

10. A linked fate. SARS was 17 years ago and was easier to contain when our world was smaller. In the 21st century, we are more interconnected and global than ever. As tensions rise between China and the US, workers on both sides will be the ultimate losers. Like in the US, there are many in China that are angry about how their government is handling the COVID-19 crisis. But the solution is not hate and blame. Beyond this, there are plenty of internal contradictions in China like state surveillance, repression of Uyghur, workers, and feminists. However, there is much work ahead to build a strategy of solidarity based on people to people relationships and diplomacy. We have a lot to learn from innovative and nimble activism in China and just because there is criticism, it doesn’t mean people want to “overthrow” the government. The Chinese people and people around the world have a linked fate. We need to begin creating a new “we,” a new bloc of solidarity. That is where the solutions and strategies lie. Let’s build and focus our energies here.

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There is a lot of COVID-19 angst and it makes sense because of all the uncertainty but we all need to stay focused and chill the F out! This indeed will be a new normal and it will be a LOOOONG time before things stabilize or flatten. The economic recession will have lasting impacts that will alter generations. We need to be like water and, like water, be prepared for anything. Just as capital is so nimble we need to learn to navigate the crisis and conditions in front of us. But, more than anything, we need to be extremely grounded, be prepared to govern and be the majority. We also need to account for every unit of energy and agency from our ancestors. As the good people at the Highlander Center said, we need to tap into the legacies of our resilience, mutual aid, and self determination that has existed in our communities for hundreds, if not more, years. We must do all this while keeping our eyes on the prize. 

 

For more left perspectives on China, here are some additional resources:   

Chuang Blog

The Lausan Collective

Justice is Global

China Labor Bulletin