We Seek To Be Inclusive, Not Divisive

Vincent R. Vinci, Contributing Editor | May 9, 2022 11:25 am | 3 comments | 1173 reads

A few days ago we published a piece in which our associate editor, Irene Li, shared  her experiences and observations as a Chinese person during Covid.

A lot of foreign residents of Beijing and other parts of China took offense to her piece, claiming that Irene's personal experiences invalidated or mimized the discrimination that foreigners have experienced in China.

As per a follow up article from Joey Knotts, we recognize that foreigners often feel a sense of alienation and discrimination that is not always visible to Chinese people.

However, Irene's story was not about this issue, which as we know has been going on for a long time, not just during Covid. Her story was about sharing her experiences being singled out specifically during Covid, in hopes of showing that it isn't just foreigners that are being targeted for what appears to be selective enforcement.

The examples she lists in her piece are things foreigners have reported as having happened to them. In most of these cases, foreigners have interpreted this as happening to them specifically because they are foreign:

1. Being told by a baoan to put away her kite when there was no one else in her immediate vicinity.

2. Watching as a Chinese couple were singled out at Universal Studios for not wearing their masks.

3. Having someone move away from her in the subway when she coughed.

4. Being singled out and told to hurry up and go get tested while in her community.

Many have accused Irene of showing no empathy or understanding of what foreigners are going through, while at the same time showing no empathy for her experiences.

No doubt expats are incredibly frustrated about life in China right now, this Covid situation sucks for everyone. But taking all these frustrations on one person simply for sharing their perspective is not fair. Irene simply doesn’t deserve this.

We aren’t going to apologize for allowing Irene to share her perspectives, and we're certainly not going to fire her, as some in the mob have called for.

Instead, we’d like to continue to welcome one and all to share their experiences, be they foreign or Chinese.

By the way, a note about that distinction: From its founding in 2001, the Beijinger has not been solely a media outlet for foreigners.

We've carefully defined our mission from Day 1 as serving internationally minded people in Beijing – which we happen to do in the English langauge. 

While the majority of our readers are foreign – something around 70 percent – from that first day our readership has been roughly 30 percent local Chinese who happen to speak English.

They too are our core consitituency, and we treat them just as a part of this international community as an American, a Kenyan, or a Malaysian. That's why you will rarely if ever see us following the same "othering" stories you'll find in other English outlets. Our mission is to connect this community together, not to divide it. 

If you'd like to write your own perspective on the issue, feel free to contact us. Or, let us know in the comments how you handle it.

READ: Just Breathe: Five Tips for Staying Calm in Uncertain Times

Images: Aaron Burden (via Unsplash)

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DaNtE1984's picture DaNtE1984 Submitted by Guest on Wed, 05/11/2022 - 11:06

Vincent, your points are absolutely valid and it was wrong to attack Irene for sharing her experiences. And to be honest, my first reaction was also anger, but then when I re-read the piece, it was actually quite on point. The essence was in the headline - COVID RULES DON'T SINGLE OUT FOREIGNERS. This is absolutely true. The Covid rules apply equally to everyone.

However, the timing of the article may have been off. Especially since a lot of expats are frustrated with the Covid rules (I moved to Shanghai from Beijing in December, and have been going through the lockdown since April). This frustration, in my opinion, is also misplaced, since the same "frustrated" expats were not complaining in 2020 and 2021 when the rest of the world was going through lockdowns, while we were all traipsing around like nothing was wrong. But that's a different conversation.

I believe that the timing and message of Irene's article was off because it was a slap in the face of the discrimination and xenophobia foreigners face FROM PEOPLE, not from the Covid rules. The slew of angry comments came from that spot. Perhaps a way to address that emotion might be to do a piece on that.

And of course, we all owe an apology to Irene for belittling her experiences, which were about COVID RULES, and not outright discrimination from the people.

birdseed45's picture birdseed45 Submitted by Guest on Mon, 05/09/2022 - 17:42

Have to resend this after my previous comment was deleted. If someone shies away from you, thats racism (no matter if you think its on the low end). Microaggressions make people feel unhappy and discriminated against (as we see from the comments) - and your response is to "jab" at them (even if personally you believe they're overhyping it)? Its not really living up to the title of "not divisive" or being empathetic.

The microaggressions don't really bother me (the personal experience of being punched, kicked, told to 'go home', seeing a friend stabbed, for being a foreigner does), but I wouldn't "jab" at my readers who are bothered

birdseed45's picture birdseed45 Submitted by Guest on Mon, 05/09/2022 - 16:15

People shy away from you because you're a foreigner - that's not racism? - cos it is (even if you believe if its on the minor end of the spectrum). And your response to people complaining about racism - I'm going to jab at them? Keep digging Vincent...

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