Caught in the crossfire: Chinese-Americans feel the heat as tensions flare
A new level of China-bashing is on the rise in Washington, and scholars say it is fuelling anti-Chinese sentiment and paranoia in the United States
With tensions flaring between Washington and Beijing over their spiralling trade war, Chinese in the United States – both visiting nationals and Americans of Chinese descent – fear they might become collateral damage if they are considered a threat to national security.
Many prominent Chinese-Americans have complained that they are subject to tighter scrutiny as a result of the tit-for-tat trade confrontation and mounting allegations about Beijing’s overseas influence activities that have unfairly called their loyalty into question.
“Chinese-Americans are vulnerable and we are caught in the middle,” said Chi Wang, chairman of the Washington-based US-China Policy Foundation.
Wang, a professor at Georgetown University and the former head of the China section at the Library of Congress, said it was sad to see his “Chineseness” used to somehow make him less American or less trustworthy.
“The US is my home. I have lived in the US for more than 70 years and worked for the US government for 50 years before retiring – and yet I am beginning to feel unwelcome here,” said Wang, 86, who moved to the US soon before the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
A ‘DETERIORATING RELATIONSHIP’
Neither the US nor China has shown signs of yielding in their trade war so far. US President Donald Trump continues to double down on his tough talk – accusing Beijing of election meddling and last week slapping tariffs on another US$200 billion of Chinese goods, nearly half of the imports from China – while Beijing has lambasted Trump’s adversarial approach as part of a long-term Washington attempt to thwart China’s rise.