One night, more than 10 years ago, I bumped into a group of intoxicated sports fans coming out of a bar in Chicago 'Hey Chink, go home,' one yelled. 'You take our jobs.' As I walked away, I could hear the others laughing hysterically.
The incident occurred during the US economic recession, when China-bashing was all the rage. While Bill Clinton, then the presidential candidate, accused president George Bush senior of 'coddling' dictators in Beijing, other politicians blamed China for supplying the US market with products made by prison labour, and for the loss of US jobs. Many Chinese Americans like myself became the epitome of the evil place at which politicians were pointing their fingers. There were many cases of taunting and attacks on Chinese and other Asians.
Fast forward to today. Although the economy is emerging from a deep recession, unemployment is still at a nine-year high and consumer confidence is shaky. With a presidential election around the corner, politicians from both sides, eager to show they are sensitive to constituents' economic difficulties, are looking for scapegoats. China has become what one Hong Kong professor calls 'the whipping boy' for the US economy.
The latest round of China-bashing was triggered by a petition from the National Association of Manufacturers, a powerful industrial lobbying group. It claims the Chinese government is keeping the yuan artificially low to gain a competitive advantage over US companies. It is planning to file a complaint to the US trade representative, which could trigger tough penalties on Chinese imports.
Suddenly, the yuan, relatively unknown a few months ago in the US, is on everyone's lips. Its low value is being blamed for the huge US trade deficit with China and the loss of 2.7 million US manufacturing jobs.
Congress has responded quickly. US President George W. Bush has been urged to pressure China to revalue. Presidential hopefuls have seized the opportunity to attack Mr Bush's economic policy. 'Foreign currency manipulation is killing US manufacturing jobs,' said Senator Joseph Lieberman. 'Until the renminbi and other currencies are fairly valued, the haemorrhaging of America's manufacturing base will continue.'