City Council | Affordable Housing | Dear Editor

(This letter was printed in April 20, 2001 edition of SAMPAN. It is reprinted here with permission from the author.)

Dear Editor:
I am writing to express my outrage and disappointment with the reaction of some Americans towards the U.S. spy plane’s incident in the South China Sea. After that event, there has been a rise in anti-Chinese statements and incidents throughout the United States. I have been receiving e-mails from various individuals and organizations informing me that there has been talk of putting all Chinese Americans in internment camps, firing Chinese national laboratory employees, boycotting Chinese restaurants, and sending Chinese Americans home to “their country,” among other hostile sentiments. I am sad to say that I, myself, have also been a victim of this wave of xenophobia against Chinese Americans.

Last week, I was in the Boston Redevelopment Authority office buying a zoning map of Chinatown, and the city employee behind the desk asked me for “his plane” back. Since the incident had just happened, I was not aware of the news. Therefore, I did not say anything to him, but he would not leave me alone. Instead, he continued to request for “his plane” back, and when I asked him to explain what he meant, he simply replied that “the Chinese have taken his plane.”

It was not until I stepped outside and saw the newspapers’ headlines that I realized he was talking about the U.S. spy plane being detained on China’s Hainan Island. After I realized what he was talking about, I became enraged. This city employee’s attitude towards me is simply another example of some Americans’ perception that Asians and Asian Americans are foreigners. It reconfirms to me that no matter how long Asians and Asian Americans have been in the U.S., and no matter what contributions we have made to the overall well-being of this country, there is still this notion deeply ingrained in the heads of some non-Asians that we are foreigners. When controversial issues occur between any Asian country and the U.S., our loyalty and patriotism are the first to be questioned.
The reason why I felt compelled to talk about my encounter with this racist and ignorant man is not simply because I was offended and hurt by his comments, but also, I am worried about the possible repercussions of this incident. Already, there is talk about boycotting goods made in China and Chinese restaurants, even though the Asians here have nothing to do with this incident. What will happen next? If the tension between the U.S. and China escalates, will the U.S. government put us in internment camps like the Japanese Americans during WWII? Are we truly safe from being targets of racial profiling, scapegoating, victimization, hate crimes, discrimination, institutionalized racism, and other forms of oppression? I am scared to answer my own question, because last week’s incident has already given me a reality check of my status in this country.

Having witnessed what negative impacts can have upon us, it is now even more imperative for Asians and Asian Americans to stand strong, and to exercise our legally deserved rights and status as equal American people.

Helen Wong, Boston, MA