Sinophobia

The God of Wealth at Waterloo Street in Singapore (left); Taylor Swift at her Eras Tour in California, 7 August 2023. (Screen shot from Washington Post; Michael Tran/AFP)

Why can't God of Wealth and Taylor Swift exist side by side: Reflecting on Washington Post's article on Lianhe Zaobao

A recent piece in the Washington Post claims that Lianhe Zaobao is a pro-China mouthpiece that lacks its own stand. Lianhe Zaobao’s associate editor Peter Ong examines the paper’s editorial considerations and responds to the Post’s comments.
A woman rides a scooter along a street decorated with Vietnamese national flags ahead of Vietnam's National Day celebrations in Hanoi on 1 September 2021. (Nhac Nguyen/AFP)

Vietnamese still favours the US despite Afghanistan spectre

Many observers have drawn parallels between the US’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and memories of the “fall of Saigon”. But Vietnamese reactions to US Vice President Kamala Harris’s recent visit there shows continued favourable sentiments towards the US.
This photo taken on 13 June 2021 shows people looking at the city view from a bridge in Shanghai, China. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

The Shanghai middle class: Embracing 'cosmopolitanism with Chinese characteristics'?

Around 400 to 500 million Chinese citizens are thought to enjoy a middle-class lifestyle today. They are an important political and economic force but their political outlook and worldviews are neither homogeneous nor clear-cut. Many of them share certain cosmopolitan values, but some among them are also those with the most strident nationalistic views. How will this key demographic influence China’s relations with the US and the world? Professor Li Cheng, author of Middle Class Shanghai: Reshaping US-China Engagement, tells us more.
Demonstrators protest against military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, 22 February 2021. (Stringer/Reuters)

Why China has everything to lose from Myanmar coup

Contrary to speculation that China may have abetted or has much to gain from the situation in Myanmar, Hong Kong academic Enze Han says that it is actually the party with the most to lose. Moreover, any playing up of a great power tussle between the US and China only hurts Myanmar in the long run.
Chinese parents and their children gather at an education fair in Hefei, eastern China's Anhui province, as they search for suitable colleges for further education on June 27, 2009. (AFP)

Study in the US? Chinese students are having second thoughts

The US used to be an attractive place for Chinese students and families, but given its current poor handling of the coronavirus outbreak and emergence of strong anti-Chinese sentiment, many Chinese are reconsidering whether to move there for studies and work. Zaobao journalist Meng Dandan speaks to young Chinese and their families.
The Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt is pictured on 1 March 2020 with the Chinese flag projected on it in solidarity with the Chinese people amid the Covid-19 pandemic. (AFP)

‘Wolf warrior diplomacy’: China's new normal?

Taking an aggressive stance will do Chinese diplomats little good in their efforts to control the narrative, says Zhu Zhiqun. In fact, such behaviour offends the very people they hope to persuade. However, is wolf warrior diplomacy becoming the new normal?
This file photo taken on March 2, 2018 shows people gathering on a street in the "Little Africa" district in Guangzhou, the capital of southern China's Guangdong province. Africans in southern China's largest city say they have become targets of suspicion and subjected to forced evictions, arbitrary quarantines and mass coronavirus testing. (Fred Dufour/AFP)

Officials say no differential treatment of African community but Chinese in Africa fear sinophobia

Amid claims of discrimination against Africans in Guangzhou in terms of coronavirus controls, the Guangzhou authorities have stressed that there is no differential treatment of foreigners. Meanwhile, Chinese in and out of China are worried about a second wave of the virus, and retaliation by locals in other countries. Zaobao correspondent Edwin Ong reports.
This handout picture released by Myanmar News Agency (MNA) shows Chinese President Xi Jinping (L), Myanmar President Win Myint (2nd L) and Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi (2nd R), attending a ceremony marking Myanmar and China's 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in Naypyidaw, January 2020. (Handout/AFP)

Sinophobia in Myanmar and the Belt and Road Initiative

Uncertainty over the Myitsone Dam project and the influx of Chinese into Myanmar have not gone down well with the people of Myanmar. ISEAS academic Nyi Nyi Kyaw examines the rise of sinophobia in Myanmar, and the factors behind it.
Examples of "I am from Taiwan" stickers sold on PChome eBay Co. Ltd., a Taiwanese online shopping platform. (PChome eBay Co. Ltd/Internet)

Rising sense of Taiwanese identity amid Covid-19 epidemic

Ng Soon Kiat finds that the “I am from Taiwan” stickers that have popped up recently are not only a utilitarian guard against sinophobia, but possibly a political badge asserting Taiwan’s separate identity.