Outbreak spurs racist outbursts online

Since the start of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, Chinese-American doctor Eugene Gu has been derisively called “Flugene” on social media, where people target him and say he has the “Wu Flu” — a social media meme referring to the virus’ origin in Wuhan.

“Many racists on social media have harassed me with pictures of bat soup or make false accusations against me,” said Gu, who has many followers on Twitter.

He has experienced racism in the United States before, first in 2003, when SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) broke out.

“When I had allergies or would sneeze, people would give me suspicious stares, and it made me very selfconscious about it,” said Gu. “With the new coronavirus outbreak, it is far worse, especially on social media.”

Gu became a social media sensation because of his public opposition to racism. He is one of seven Twitter users who sued US President Donald Trump, charging that he deprived them of their First Amendment rights by blocking them from commenting on his tweets. They won the case in 2018.

He noted there’s a new phenomenon of putting profile pictures behind yellow containment suits and “a formidable army of racists who are creating a new subculture of trolling and harassment against Asians”.

The racist memes and talking points being circulated on Twitter are like another plague, “exploiting people’s fear about the coronavirus epidemic for racist clout”, said Gu.

He warned that the reappearance of the old racist trope “the sick man of Asia” is particularly hurtful.

“Calling China ‘the sick man of Asia’, reminding us all of the time China was divided by so many European powers along with Japan, is making light of the genocides that occurred throughout Asia as a result of that,” he said.

Charles Redding, president and CEO of MedShare, a humanitarian aid organization. said the political environment in the US “lends itself to it”, and people feel emboldened to speak and say what’s on their mind, even though it’s hurtful.

As an African American, Redding said he is no stranger to racist attacks and stereotyping.

“It’s a little bit like Ebola because people fear the unknown. They think it is only associated with a country,” said Redding. “This is not a Chinese-created disease. It could very well happen anywhere.”

MedShare has engaged with relief efforts for Ebola and SARS before, but one thing that makes the novel coronavirus different from the previous epidemics is the prevalence of the internet and social media, he said.

“What spreads is not only the real news, but also fake news. You get all this information, so you’ve got to be able to decipher what’s real and what’s not,” he explained.

Mary Millben, a US singer who performed the national anthem for three US presidents, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Trump, showed support for Chinese people through a video on social media.

In the video, she sings in Chinese the last two lines of the Chinese national anthem, which she came to love when she was an exchange student in China.

“May you be comforted knowing that the world stands with you. I have seen firsthand the resilience and strength of the Chinese people,” Millben said.

“March on, march on (lyric of the Chinese national anthem) ...” she said. “Those words that challenge to march on — I believe it applies to all of us today. With hope in your heart, these days will soon pass. China will stand strong again. The Chinese people will be whole again. The sun will shine bright again.”