The international panic over the Wuhan coronavirus has taken another, more familiar form -- the re-emergence of old racist tropes that portray Asians, their food, and their customs as unsafe and unwelcome.
Hong Kong On a French newspaper's front page last weekend, big block letters announced"Yellow Alert" next to an image of a Chinese woman wearing a face mask. Another headline in the same paper read"New Yellow Peril?" above an article about the ongoing Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
The headlines drew immediate outrage. Readers accused the paper of using ignorant and offensive language. "Yellow Peril" was an old racist ideology that targeted East Asians in Western countries. The phrase embodies the worst of anti-Asian fears and stereotypes, which have plagued immigrant communities since the first waves of Chinese immigration to the United States began in the 19th century.
— Madjid Messaoudene January 26, 2020 The newspaper apologized quickly and said they had no intention of perpetuating"racist stereotypes of Asians." But the damage is not so easily undone, and the paper is not the sole culprit -- merely the latest in a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment as the coronavirus spreads worldwide. The escalating global health crisis has claimed more than 200 lives -- all in China -- and infected close to 10,000 people worldwide.
— Lou Chengwang January 28, 2020 In a statement confirming the first case of coronavirus in Los Angeles this week, the local health department stressed that"people should not be excluded from activities based on their race, country of origin, or recent travel if they do not have symptoms of respiratory illness."The head of Toronto Public Health also warned that misinformation about the virus had created"unnecessary stigma against members of our community.
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