A rally against racism towards the Chinese and wider Asian community descended into violence last week, when members of the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese communities confronted each other on Chinatown’s Gerrard Street.
The rally had been organized by the Min Quan Legal Center, a human rights group formed by Chinese businessmen and expat students.
The rally hoped to draw attention to the high levels of racism and hate faced by Asian communities, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan in 2019.
Scuffles broke out at the end of the rally between a group advocating for the rights of Hongkongers and other attendees, but the event was largely peaceful.
Dr Ping Hua, an academic and co-founder of the Chinese Association of Southampton, spoke about racist rumours that began to circulate in the media after the pandemic began: “Eating Chinese food will make you sick… Keep away from the Chinese and you will be alright.”
Bobby Chan, Chairman of the Min Quan Legal Center, said his home country – Hong Kong – lacked independence. “End racism that began in the colonial period, and say no to the upcoming cold war”, he said.
Chan spoke about the impact on students from China, Hong Kong, and other Asian countries who have faced racism in the wake of the pandemic. “Many governments have described the pandemic as a ‘Chinese virus’. This made a cruel mark on society, and caused a backlash”.
A separate group at the rally wearing black masks and holding black flags calling for Hong Kong’s independence, raised issues about human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
They accused the Man Quan Legal Centre and other Chinese groups of neglecting issues faced by their community at the hands of the Chinese government, including being called “cockroaches”.
Activist Simon Cheng Man-kit pointed out that co-organizers of the rally – The Federation of UK Fujian Chinese, and the London China Town Association – had published ads in newspapers to support the “patriots rule Hong Kong” principle.
The group of Hong Kongers called themselves “R” and shouted, “China is committing genocide, and you support China, shame on you”. They said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was to blame for the harvesting of organs from prisoners and other human rights abuses in Hong Kong and mainland China.
In the afternoon, a fight broke out between men from this group and other parts of the rally, resulting in one arrest. Police are still investigating the incident.
Hate and racism towards communities from Asian countries is not new in British society. And as the third largest minority grouping in the UK, they have suffered collectively from vandalism and boycotts linked to pandemic-inspired racism.
There is a precedent for this discrimination – in 2001, unfounded accusations that Foot & Mouth disease emerged from a Chinese restaurant using illegally imported meat led to a spike in racist incidents against the Chinese community.
Data compiled by the End Violence and Racism Against East and Southeast Asian Communities (EVR) reveals that hate crimes against East and Southeast Asian communities have been rising year-on-year since 2018.
Hate crimes in London rose 80% from 323 to 581 between 2019 and 2020, and the capital now accounts for a quarter of all UK hate crimes.
Ping Hua said: “We should advocate for peace and oppose any form of war, cold or hot, and should have dialogue and co-operation”.