This event is co-sponsored by US-China Peoples Friendship Association – New England Chapter; CODEPINK; and Institute for Asian American Studies, University of Massachusetts – Boston.
As US foreign policy and media coverage has turned more and more negative towards China, racist incidents against Asians and Chinese Americans are more frequent. This is not new, mainstream US society has since the 19th century perceived and treated the Chinese in America as “forever foreigners.” From the imperial Qing Dynasty’s last years to Covid-19, Chinese Americans have been tied to a country 7,000 miles distant. How can we best conduct people-to-people friendship work in this context? The panel will be followed by discussion.
Panel:
Michael Liu, author of Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity and Survival in Boston’s Chinatown, 1880-2018 published by the University of Massachusetts Press, will describe the myriad ways that US-China relations have shaped the fate and course of this community in its turbulent history.
Nicole Filler, program coordinator/research associate for the Anti-Asian Racism Project at the Institute for Asian American Studies (University of Massachusetts-Boston), will discuss the relationship between US policies and practices and the surge in reported hate crimes and incidents against Asians in Massachusetts since the onset of Covid-19.
Wei Yu, the coordinator CODEPINK’s China is Not Our Enemy campaign, will address “towards peace: cooperation and normal US-China relations.” The mission of the campaign is to counter US aggression towards China through love for humanity and dedication to mutual respect, cooperation and world peace.