UVic survey sparks calls for awareness of anti-Asian racism

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amy Go knew Canada was about to repeat history.

The president of the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice said she braced herself for the targeting of Asian Canadians, as had occurred in the 19th century with the “yellow peril” discourse accusing the population of being dirty and disease-carrying. “Unfortunately, it has gotten far worse than we had anticipated,” said Go.

Go said she and her family have personally experienced racism in Canada, such as being spat on and having an object thrown at them. She’s among the advocates urging white Canadians to become more aware of anti-Asian racism, as two new surveys highlight the heavy toll of the pandemic on race relations in the country.

A recent study led by the University of Victoria, along with a separate new survey by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies, provide a clearer picture of how discrimination has harmed Chinese Canadians’ wellbeing and sense of belonging.

The UVic study surveyed 874 first and second-generation Chinese Canadians and found twothirds had some experience with being treated disrespectfully.

Doris Mah, co-founder of the Stand With Asians Coalition, said it was noteworthy that the proportion of first and secondgeneration Chinese Canadians who reported disrespectful treatment was about the same.

She said it shows that language proficiency, profession or income level do not necessarily lower the possibility of these experiences occurring. “You still feel racism,” she said.

About one in three respondents said they had been personally threatened or intimidated, and more than one in four said they had been physically attacked.

Nigel Mantou Lou, the study’s lead researcher, said hate and racism are like a virus that affects well-being. “We have these public guidelines and policy to curb the spread of COVID. But we also need strong public policy and guidelines to address the second pandemic, namely racism.”

Lou, an assistant professor of psychology at UVic, said the fact that only 10 per cent of respondents had reported incidents to police or shared it on social media shows that they feel like they don’t belong in Canada.

In a separate survey, Leger on behalf of the Association for Canadian Studies polled 1,547 Canadians, of which 1,255 were white and 75 were of Chinese descent. Almost half of Chinese Canadians polled said relations with white Canadians had worsened during the pandemic, while only about two in five white Canadians said their relationship with Chinese Canadians got worse.