By Lawrence Watanabe

A survey recently conducted revealed that 68% of Chinese Americans experience some form of discrimination monthly.

The survey, jointly completed by the Committee of 100, a nonprofit organization, and NORC, a nonpartisan research organization at the University of Chicago, aimed to understand Chinese American adults and the issues important to them. The Committee of 100 describes its mission as a mix between “promoting the full participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life and to advance constructive relations between the U.S. and Greater China.”

In total, a sample of 504 Chinese American adults were provided a 49-question survey by Amplify AAPI, a NORC program designed to highlight imbalances in data collection regarding Asian Americans.

A common struggle among study participants was cultural acceptance; only about 1 in 3 optimistically believed that their culture received wide acceptance from American society as a whole. The lack of social approval received by Chinese Americans, and by extension, Asian Americans in general, comes partially as the result of a spike in Chinese American discrimination. 

A previous studies concluded it becomes much more difficult to campaign for approval in the first place, especially when attempts to do so are met with racist remarks and other forms of discrimination. A 2021 report by Tobita Chow shows that when political figures peddle anti-Chinese rhetoric, it creates a team-like dynamic, where ordinary citizens “feel encouraged to imagine that these threats are emanating not only from China (as in the country or the government) but also from individual people who are of Chinese descent, or who are perceived to be so.” Understanding why Chinese Americans feel the way they do about their culture is an important step towards campaigning for future change. 

The recent spike in discrimination occurred as campaigns largely blamed China and Chinese Americans for the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Pew Research. Even now, over four and a half years from the start of the pandemic in March 2020, the poll found many Chinese Americans face discrimination through microaggressions and even hate crimes.

Misinformation regarding Chinese Americans has been peddled by a number of prominent, overwhelmingly far-right wing politicians. Donald Trump referred to Covid-19 through different, mocking racist nicknames. Among these were “kung-flu,” “China virus,” and “Wuhan virus,” based on the city where the first Covid case was discovered.

Participants noted a general unhappiness about the treatment of Chinese Americans by political figures, with 51% saying they do not feel their elected officials have the proper response to cases of violence against them and their communities.

In recent years, many politicians have resorted to spreading hate and disinformation campaigns not just against Chinese Americans, but the country of China as a whole. This has been seen on a high-profile scale with the U.S. government attempting to ban TikTok, one of the only major social media platforms not owned and operated by an American company, citing user data collection. The targeting of TikTok specifically has sparked anti-Chinese sentiment within the U.S., one of several events to create a rocky relationship between the two countries. During a Congressional hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, members of both political parties aired anti-Chinese sentiment, with much of it directed at Chew, according to NPR, despite his background as a Singaporean American.

Respondents to the survey overwhelmingly viewed the relationship as negative, and about two-thirds described that this negativity could be one reason for the negative perception of Chinese Americans.

In the study, according to Sam Collitt, a research and data scientist for the Committee of 100, survey questions regarding discrimination asked whether participants faced certain derogatory actions and behaviors, for example facing assumptions of being from a foreign country. In some cases, Collitt described, participants might not have viewed certain behaviors exhibited towards them as discriminatory if asked directly, so it allowed for a potentially more accurate representation of Chinese Americans experiencing discrimination.

When politicians use discriminatory, derogatory language when referring to Chinese Americans, it normalizes such language within their follower base; according to Chow’s 2021 report, this is undoubtedly a reason for an increase in anti-Chinese American discrimination. Despite turbulent relations between the two countries, many respondents showed optimism in the countries’ ability to cooperate on student exchange programs, as well as the fight against diseases, like Covid.

Despite racism and discrimination politically, younger people remain invested and involved in political happenings. “There are high levels of political interest in younger people,” said Nathan Chan, an assistant professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University. “Despite this, there is low voter turnout… The largest indicator of voting is recruitment and outreach. Currently, Asian Americans are the least likely to be reached out to [by political candidates], which creates a structural problem.”

“Politicians need to make an effort to relate to younger voters,” explained Vivian Leung, an assistant professor of political science at Santa Clara University. They introduced a number of concepts that could allow for increased ease of access for potential voters, citing an unprecedented spike in young voter turnout in the 2022 midterm elections. Chief among these were lowering barriers to voter registration and allowing for mail-in ballots, both of which have created a more accessible path to voting and have been shown to increase turnout in past election cycles.

Recommendations were brought up by the Committee of 100, largely aimed at the future of Chinese American legislative involvement and data collecting. With the 2024 election just over one month away, these largely focus on potential change in future election cycles and policy making decisions. Chief among these was an increased focus on collecting data related to discrimination and hate crimes, relevant to what a majority of the sample size believed to still persist in society. 

The Committee also called for policymakers to recognize and commit to change regarding hate crimes. In response to the continued rise in anti-Chinese American rhetoric among those in office, the Committee recommended the implementation of sensitivity training classes for current politicians, especially in relation to the language surrounding the US-China relationship.

“Spreading positive messages is important,” Chan said. In response to a barrage of negative narratives from politicians and the media regarding China, he called for the uplifting of Chinese and Chinese American voices. “Immigrant populations often carry the stereotypes and stigmas associated with their ancestral countries. Instead, we should be thinking about positive words and positive storytelling and [instead use] this as an important narrative for Chinese Americans.”

About 75% of the Chinese American respondents to the study were born outside of the US. Despite this, about 42% of younger people in the survey were born in the US, showing a changing trend in younger generations. 

Asian Americans, in general, have been underrepresented and inaccurately portrayed in data collection, according to Amplify AAPI’s website. The organization was created to help combat this, and to more correctly represent AAPI voices. The 2024 study is the second of its kind headed by the Committee, following one in 2022.

“We wanted respondents to be representative of the census,” said Alex Chew, Director of Client Services and Business Development with Amplify AAPI. He noted that while there is a higher Chinese American population in California, they made attempts to find Chinese Americans across the country for a more fully representative data sample.

More details about the study can be found on the Committee of 100’s website.

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