This is not a race, and there is too many Sinophobia at some western media and in the mouth of some western leaders.
Sure, it isn't a race. And the first part of your post is reasonably persuasive; I'll want to see the kinds of assertions you're making backed up elsewhere. I'll be on the lookout, and I'm willing to be persuaded.
But, sorry to say, the claim of rampant Sinophobia doesn't
help your argument to persuade. I think you'd have been better served to leave it out.
I'm not living under a rock; and yet I'm aware of no powerful and widespread
Sinophobia in the U.S., generally. That is to say: I don't see any widespread inclination of persons in the U.S. (or the wider world for that matter) to have negative reactions towards persons from the ROC (Taiwan), or Hong Kong, or towards citizens of the PRC, or towards naturalized citizens of the U.S. of Chinese descent. (And
celebrities of Chinese nationality have a better reputation in the U.S. than celebrities of
American nationality do.)
Being a bit of a Sino
phile myself (for family reasons), I think I'd have been inclined to notice it if
Sinophobia were a widespread problem. But of the various kinds of racial tensions at play in the modern world, Sino
phobia doesn't rank very high on a sensibly-arranged list of priorities.
(Note that I say, "priority list." I am describing something in
relative terms. It's an imperfect world, and there are innumerable problems in it, both large and small. Of course
wherever there is a person who, for some incomprehensible reason, has an automatic negative reaction to persons of Chinese derivation, that person's prejudice is a problem for themselves and, proportionate to the reach of their influence, to the world-at-large. Of course I don't deny that. But for Sinophobia in general to be a
big problem, on par with
climate change and
nuclear proliferation and COVID-19, or even a moderate problem like
consumer indebtedness, it would need to be
far more widespread and influential than it currently is.)
In reply, you might complain, "You have only mentioned Taiwan and Hong Kong. What about
mainland China?"
But you see, that's precisely my point.
I don't think there is widespread, influential
Sinophobia in the West (where "Sino" is a prefix to denote things associated with China
generally, such as citizens of the PRC, as well as the ROC, and Hong Kong, and U.S. citizens of Chinese ancestry). But I do think there is concern about, and no small irritation at, the r
ecent actions actions of the government on the mainland.
The mainland government, of course, cannot be said to be representative of the people. That's a claim only democratic republics can make, and even democratic republics make such claims
very imperfectly. (For example, our friend
@Donnie B. here is an American, but I think I'm safe in saying that he regards some behaviors of the current U.S. administration to be distasteful, things he wouldn't willingly
identify with. He sees -- he can correct me if I'm wrong about this -- some
distinction between himself and the current U.S. president. Now that's true even in a democratic republic. How much more so in mainland China?)
So it's perfectly logical to draw a line of distinction between all things
Sino (which one can respect, admire, even love on account of family and friends, etc.) while being skeptical of the current regime on the mainland, and especially some of its recent decisions.
(I don't see how one could possibly disagree with that thesis: To disagree would be like saying that, just because one thought
Henry VIII was a bit of a bastard, one necessarily also had negative feelings towards all things British, from the Venerable Bede to the Beatles!)
And of course, that current regime -- one particular structuring of government, run by one narrow set of personalities, during one tiny window of time in a 3,000 year history -- has done some concerning things recently. Does anyone deny that? A "phobia," as I understand the term, refers to
irrational negative reaction. It is not proper to use it to describe a
rational concern devoid of emotional content.
So my thesis is as follows: Sino-phobia (with "Sino" referencing China writ-large, and "phobia" meaning irrational negative affect) exists but is not common or influential enough to merit much concern (not when so many other things in life are more common and more alarming). But doubt about the benevolence of the Xi regime, given recent history, is more common, and I think it is reasonable that it be so.
