Tracking paranoid rhetoric, visa restrictions, and the targeted policing of China-connected research, which combine to create a hostile atmosphere for Chinese people in the U.S.
“Faculty members, post-docs, research staff and students tell me that, in their dealings with government agencies, they now feel unfairly scrutinized, stigmatized and on edge – because of their Chinese ethnicity alone.”
—MIT President L. Rafael Reif, June 25, 2019.
Since early 2018, the American immigration and justice system has appeared to target Chinese students, and ethnically Chinese researchers, with paranoid rhetoric, visa restrictions, and targeted policing and politicization of China-connected research. Together, these three trends comprise the primary — but not only — components of the current atmosphere of suspicion and distrust in America of not just Beijing, but Chinese people as a whole.
This tool tracks rising Sinophobia in the U.S. Click on the filters to view different categories of Sinophobia-related developments, including Responses to Sinophobia, like the letter by the MIT President cited above.
Read about why The China Project launched this Sinophobia Tracker, in the words of our Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Goldkorn.
"To break through the heat of this debate — one that is tinged with controversy and concern involving both immigration policies and U.S.-China relations — we must ask a fundamental question: how can we preserve and enhance the diverse research, education and innovation ecosystem that has fueled our nation’s broad prosperity since World War II? In other words, can we be both open and secure?"
"Higher education institutions must work to bolster the security of their research without sacrificing openness and collaboration, write Peter McPherson and Mary Sue Coleman."
Peter Mattis and Matt Schrader write, "America’s problematic history with enforcement actions directed at Asian-Americans means that we cannot simply give the benefit of the doubt to either the U.S. government or the universities and research institutes that investigate and administratively punish their accused researchers."
"We write today to reaffirm our enduring commitment to our international students, researchers, and patients. The success of a research university like ours is predicated on the open, robust exchange of ideas; enhanced by our ability to welcome people with different academic and practical training, experiences, cultural backgrounds, and viewpoints; and improved by our capacity to nurture talent from around the world."
"Faculty members, post-docs, research staff and students tell me that, in their dealings with government agencies, they now feel unfairly scrutinized, stigmatized and on edge – because of their Chinese ethnicity alone," wrote MIT President L. Rafael Reif.
"International students, faculty, and staff bring backgrounds and perspectives that enrich our dialogues on campus, and their presence helps all members of our community become productive members and leaders of a rapidly changing and global society."
"All of these actions hark back to a shameful chapter in American history, especially the dark ages of the Chinese Exclusion Act, signed into law in 1882," writes Dominic Ng.
"Over the past few weeks, reports of the Chinese government’s warnings regarding studying in the United States have led to some international students expressing concern about being able to pursue a Syracuse University education. I want to reassure our campus community that Syracuse University remains committed to our international students and scholars. We will continue to welcome and support students from all over the world."
"At a time when national security issues lead news reports, it is critical that we remain welcoming to students, staff, faculty, visiting scholars, and other members of our community who come from other countries, or for whom those countries are an ancestral home," wrote USCD Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla.
