Trump’s “Chinese Virus” comments play up to xenophobic tropes – Elizabeth M. Lynch
Donna Chiu has dedicated most of her life to fighting for vulnerable New Yorkers. A petite, Chinese-American woman with a quick smile and contagious laugh, you would never think she would be able to take on some of New York City’s sleaziest landlords. But within the dark, dingy halls of New York City’s housing courts, she transforms into a pit bull, fighting for her clients, low-income tenants, and holding landlords responsible for illegal practices.
But Chiu has a new villain to fight – the anti-Asian sentiment that is on the rise in the United States as a result of Covid-19, and a President who seems to take sick pleasure in constantly referring to the pandemic as “the Chinese virus.” Since Covid-19 has hit the shores of the United States, anti-bias crimes and incidents against Asian Americans have increased. Since March 18, when President Trump doubled down on his use of the term “Chinese virus,” a Chinese language newspaper based in New York, The World Journal, published six articles on bias crimes and incidents against Asian Americans in New York City. Perhaps even more telling are the Wechat groups and Asian-American focused websites such as Angry Asian Man that are awash in conversations about the increase in anti-Asian incidents and crimes.