Coronavirus is known by several names, including COVID-19, the virus, and commonly “‘Rona” on social media. More controversial names include the Ching Chong virus, the Chinese virus, and the Kung Flu. Because of false rumors and a newly discovered fear of Asians, the amount of harassment and use of anti-Asian slurs has increased throughout the pandemic. This rising discrimination, fueled by the popular belief that Asians should be solely blamed for the outbreak, has proven to be dangerous for both Asian people and Asian-run businesses.
A popular rumor that spread with alarming speed was that the coronavirus pandemic started when a Chinese person ate “bat soup.” A video surfaced online of a Chinese woman, Mengyun Wang, holding a bat with chopsticks and appearing to consume it. Sparking instant outrage, the internet believed they had just witnessed the origin of the virus, and people were fast to claim that Chinese eating habits were the cause of the pandemic. However, the event occurred in 2016, and didn’t take place in Wuhan or anywhere else in China. Wang is a travel show host and blogger, and she was visiting Palau, an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean. She later apologized, stating that she was unaware bats could be a virus carrier and the video was taken down. Despite the rumor having been disproven, the assumptions formed because of the video put Asians in a vulnerable position.
Asian-run businesses such as restaurants have taken a devastating blow. Gary Lin, a Chinese-American man, owns bubble tea shops and a ramen restaurant in New York City. Customer attendance greatly decreased and his employees were often hassled, and at one point the restaurant received a call in which the employee was asked, “ ‘can I order coronavirus?’ ” (ABC News). Lin described the rate at which his businesses declined, stating, “…it happened a little bit by little bit. Sales had fallen 10 to 20 percent in February and by mid-March, business had already dropped by 70 to 80 percent” (ABC News). Customers had stopped eating at his businesses, believing that Chinese restaurants were dangerous and bacterial.
Mei Chau, another restaurant owner in NYC, had lost 20 percent of her business each week beginning in January. On the subject, Vicente Reid, CEO of Arizona’s Asian Chamber of Commerce, said businesses are even paranoid to conduct online orders “…out of fear of the virus and out of fear of retaliation because of the virus” (Washington Post). The decrease in customer attendance, the owners’ own fears of harassment, and the owners’ health concerns have led Asian businesses to deal with economic struggles.
The number of hate crimes and assaults against the Asian population in America rose dramatically over recent months. A collection of Asian American groups who created a reporting center had received almost 1500 reports of occurrences such as physical attacks and hate speech against Asian Americans by late April (HRW.org). In one instance, a Chinese American was speaking in Mandarin on the phone when a passer-by shouted, “get this coronavirus chink away from me” (HRW.org). In another report, on the NYC subway a stranger attempted to remove a Chinese man from his seat, believing he was infected. Others have been brutally attacked and told to “go back to China.” The situation has worsened to the point where many members of the Asian population are scared to leave their homes.
The danger facing the Asian community reached new heights after the Trump administration began referring to coronavirus as the “Chinese virus” and “Wuhan virus,” implying that ethnicity causes the virus. At a White House press conference the week of March 16, Trump was asked why he repeatedly refers to the virus in that manner. He replied, “Because it comes from China, that’s why. I want to be accurate,” believing that it’s “…not racist at all” (CNBC). By referring to coronavirus in this fashion, many Americans could be influenced into forming a bias against Asian Americans, putting the Asian community at a higher risk for danger. In fact, the Mental Health Crisis Text Support Line saw a large increase in text messages from Asian Americans the week the Trump administration began using the “Chinese virus” term, reaching 3491 texts a week as opposed to the general low-2000s range (NBC).
The Asian population has faced new challenges, including a loss in business, increased harassment, and extreme bias during the global pandemic. Through the use of reliable news sources and partaking in finding solutions instead of merely spreading blame, our nation has the potential to become more properly informed and prevent future discrimination.