PRC surveillance balloon could fuel more xenophobia and anti-Asian hate attacks

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US sailors haul in remnants of a suspected surveillance balloon first launched by the PRC.

With the discovery of a giant spy balloon from the People Republic of China (PRC) flying over the US, Asian Americans need to gird themselves for another surge of anti-Asian hate.

Sen. Joel R. Carter, R-Gulfport, shared a photo of a weather balloon on Feb. 11, with drawn-on red text that mocked a racist interpretation of an Asian accent. The image text on the balloon says, "Weather Barroon" and "Totary NOT For Spying."

With anti-Asian hate incidents still rising because people mistakenly blame COVID-19 on all Asian Americans, the last thing AANHPI need is a giant PRC balloon the US military suspect was used for espionage. 

Since the US military shot down the first balloon on Feb. 4, three more similar balloons have been shot down by US fighter jets and are in the process of being recovered. The origin of the three balloons shot down Monday have not been determined.

With the aim of preventing a possible hike in anti-Asian attacks, the Committee of 100, a nonprofit organization of prominent Chinese Americans, Monday issued a memo on language use related to the US-China relationship. 

FYI: The memo can be downloaded from the Committee of 100 website here.

The committee's memo explains the important distinctions among China, the Chinese people, the People’s Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China. It also highlights categories of problematic language and the historical context that may impact how messaging is perceived.

The language that lawmakers, public officials, and media is important. The use of terms such as kung flu, the Wuhan Virus and China Virus by the Donald Trump administration contributed to the rise of hate incidents against Asian Americans and reinforced the perception of Asian Americans as foreigners and dehumanizing them as threatening "others."

Xenophobia in the U.S. towards Chinese Americans and the larger AAPI population often manifests across a myriad of words, phrases, and tropes. To help combat this issue, Committee of 100 crafted an anti-hate glossary as a guide for identifying terms, phrases, and imagery often associated with the Asian community. 

The glossary can serve as an accessible reference with examples to illustrate the types of language to avoid.

FYI: The glossary can be downloaded directly from the Committee of 100 website here

Vocabulary and choice of language can either contradict or verify intentions, goals, and motives. This is especially true in diplomatic and international arenas. The Committee of 100 memo outlines specific categories of language that are dangerous, problematic, or unproductive, including examples of the categories.

Since the pandmic was began in 2020, Stop AAPI Hate has collected over 11,500 incidents of anti-Asian hate. In the year 2021 to 2022, the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, revealed that anti-Asian hate crime increased by 339%.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.