FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | ONLINE ONLY (VIA ZOOM) | REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Presenter: Rong Xiaoqing, Author, the New York Times newsletter Overseas Chinese Journal; Reporter, Sing Tao Daily; 2019 Alicia Patterson Fellow
Moderator: Qin Gao, Professor and Director of China Center for Social Policy, Columbia School of Social Work
People of the Chinese diaspora living in the U.S. have played a critical role in building the bridge between China and the U.S., but rising nationalism and increasing hostility between the two countries has undermined these efforts. Chinese are often looked at with suspicion in the U.S. and called “betrayers” by fervent nationalists in China simply for leaving the country. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic adds to their stress level and makes every Chinese in the U.S. vulnerable as anti-Asian hate crime surges.
The speaker has been covering the Chinese diaspora in the U.S. for more than two decades. She will discuss the struggles of Chinese living in the U.S. in today’s heated political climate, their pain at connecting to both countries but not being accepted by either, their dilemma of picking sides (or not) between the two nations, and their confusion about race, nationality, roots, and identity in a decoupling era. She will also shed light on how media coverage sometimes helps promote misperceptions about the Chinese community.
This event is part of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute series Asia in Action: Knowledge and Inclusion in a Time of Fear and Ignorance.