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Antisemitism in China

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Antisemitism in the People's Republic of China is a mostly 21st-century phenomenon and is complicated by the fact that there is little ground for antisemitism in China in historical sources.[1][2][3] In the 2020s, antisemitic conspiracy theories in China began to spread and intensify.[4][5][6] Some Chinese people believe in antisemitic tropes that Jews secretly rule the world.[7][8]

History

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Public consciousness of Jews in China has a variety of historical influences.[8][9]: 98  Academic Eric Reinders of Emory University states that these include "Protestant missionaries, Jews as a model for Chinese immigrants, Japanese anti-Jewish articles circulated in China in the 1930s, the presence of European Jewish refugees in Shanghai, and the politics around Israel as a proxy of U.S. imperialism."[9]: 98 

Reinders writes that Chinese stereotypes of Jews are based in positive generalizations more than negative ones.[9]: 98–99  Jews are praised for valuing education like Chinese, although this is often also framed competitively.[9]: 99  Some mass market books associate Jews with wealth-building.[9]: 98–99  Some scholars write that philosemitic stereotypes in China can quickly turn antisemitic.[4][10][11] According to Tuvia Gering of the Atlantic Council, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have historically been a useful tool for the Chinese government against Western countries.[12]

Hongbing Song, a Chinese-American IT consultant and amateur historian, published the Currency Wars series, believing Jewish financiers controlled the international banking systems since the era of Napoleon.[13] Song also says in his book that the key functions of the Federal Reserve have been ultimately controlled by five private banks, including Citibank, all of which have maintained "close ties" with the Rothschild family, one Jewish group that led to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The book became a bestseller and even has been read by some high ranking Chinese officials.[4][14][15]

According to the polls made by the Anti-Defamation League in 2014, roughly 20 percent of Chinese people have a negative attitude towards Jews, and the older people are, the more likely they are to have a negative perception of Jews.[7][16] Since 2015, descendants of the Kaifeng Jews have come under government pressure and suspicion.[17]

During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, state-owned newspaper Ta Kung Pao published antisemitic George Soros conspiracy theories, displaying Soros, a Jew, as a reptile in collusion with Jimmy Lai.[18]

The May 2021 events in Gaza precipitated Chinese state-run media invoking antisemitic tropes and sentiments, encouraged by top Chinese diplomats, and rehashed by well-known Chinese political commentators.[19] In particular, Israel's embassy in Beijing accused China Global Television Network (CGTN) of "blatant antisemitism" when it broadcast a program during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, in which host Zheng Junfeng claimed that Jews were in control of global finances and that "powerful lobbies" of Jews were responsible for the U.S. government's support for Israel.[20][21][22]

Political blogger Sima Nan's Weibo channel spread the notion that Jews colluded with the Empire of Japan to establish a Jewish homeland on Chinese territory during the Second Sino-Japanese War in what has been termed the Fugu Plan.[23] In September 2021, BYD appointed Lu Kewen, an online influencer known for spreading antisemitic tropes, as a spokesperson for the company.[19]

In 2023, articles that interpreted the Fugu Plan as an antisemitic conspiracy theory against China went viral on Chinese social media.[6][24] Following the discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, conspiracy theories spread in China that the Tokyo Electric Power Company was financed by Jewish people.[25]

Antisemitic reactions to the Israel–Hamas war were widespread on Chinese state media and social media.[26][27][28][29] Antisemitic comments were not removed from Chinese social media sites.[30][31][32] Sympathetic portrayals of Hamas have proliferated on Bilibili.[33] In a November 2023 interview with Voice of America, Israel's ambassador to China, Irit Ben-Abba, spoke about Sino-Israeli relations and antisemitism on the Chinese Internet, stating that "The antisemitic, anti-Israel discourse that we saw quite intensively in the last month has subsided", and arguing that China's relations with Israel have not changed.[34] China Central Television (CCTV) falsely claimed that "Jews represent just 3% of the American population but control 70% of its wealth."[32] In response to the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, former editor-in-chief of the Global Times Hu Xijin stated that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined."[35]

In January 2024, CNN reported that antisemitic content was proliferating on Chinese social media.[36] EU bureau chief of China Daily Chen Weihua responded that, according to CNN's logic, the United Nations and even the majority of the world's population were inciting anti-Semitism because they had all criticized Israel's actions in Gaza.[37]

Antisemitic tropes have also been spread online by the Ministry of Public Security's Spamouflage influence operation.[12] In October 2024, The Washington Post reported that Spamouflage targeted U.S. representative Barry Moore (R-AL) with accusations that he won his primary because of "the bloody Jewish consortium," as well as calling him a "Jewish dog", among other antisemitic tropes. Moore has been critical of the Chinese Communist Party, and has directed support for Taiwanese independence. Moore is not Jewish.[38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Brekke, Torkel (26 April 2021). "Islamophobia and Antisemitism are Different in Their Potential for Globalization". Journal of Religion and Violence. 9: 80–100. doi:10.5840/jrv202142689. S2CID 236624482.
  2. ^ Medzini, Meron (1 January 2013). "China, the Holocaust, and the Birth of the Jewish State". Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. 7 (1): 135–145. doi:10.1080/23739770.2013.11446543. ISSN 2373-9770. S2CID 141756296.
  3. ^ "China: A Land Without Anti-Semitism". Museum of Jewish Heritage. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Ainslie, Mary J. (March 2021). "Chinese Philosemitism and Historical Statecraft: Incorporating Jews and Israel into Contemporary Chinese Civilizationism". The China Quarterly. 245: 208–226. doi:10.1017/S0305741020000302. ISSN 0305-7410. S2CID 218827042.
  5. ^ "The Chinese Thinker Who Claims That the Jews Are His Country's Number-One Enemy". Mosaic. March 31, 2023. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Haime, Jordyn (2023-07-18). "Jewish Conspiracy Theories are Finding an Audience in China". China Media Project. Archived from the original on 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  7. ^ a b Davis, Bob (14 May 2014). "Is China Anti-Semitic? One Jew's Reflections". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b Xun, Zhou (2019-12-31), Ross, James R.; Lihong, Song (eds.), "Perceiving Jews in Modern China", The Image of Jews in Contemporary China, Academic Studies Press, pp. 5–23, doi:10.1515/9781618114211-003, ISBN 978-1-61811-421-1
  9. ^ a b c d e Reinders, Eric (2024). Reading Tolkien in Chinese: Religion, Fantasy, and Translation. Perspectives on Fantasy series. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781350374645.
  10. ^ Kowner, Rotem (2023-08-08), "East Asia and Antisemitism", The Routledge History of Antisemitism (1 ed.), London: Routledge, pp. 69–76, doi:10.4324/9780429428616-10, ISBN 978-0-429-42861-6
  11. ^ Kowner, Rotem; Ainslie, Mary J. & Podoler, Guy (2023-05-27). "When antisemitism and philosemitism go hand in hand: attitudes to Jews in contemporary East Asia". Patterns of Prejudice. 57 (3): 175–201. doi:10.1080/0031322X.2023.2287877. ISSN 0031-322X. Chinese antisemitism can largely be characterized as an inversion of previous philosemitic stereotypes that become negative and threatening when they no longer contribute to a desired narrative of Chinese global superiority and centrality.
  12. ^ a b Ma, Wenhao (2024-10-04). "China-connected spamouflage networks spread antisemitic disinformation". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 2024-10-05. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  13. ^ Arad, Boaz (2009-02-22). "Anti-Semitism makes it to China?". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  14. ^ McGregor, Richard (25 September 2007). "Chinese buy into conspiracy theory". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  15. ^ Keating, Joshua. "The World's Most Persistent Conspiracy Theories". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  16. ^ "China". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  17. ^ Buckley, Chris (September 24, 2016). "Chinese Jews of Ancient Lineage Huddle Under Pressure". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  18. ^ Haime, Jordyn and Gering, Tuvia (April 25, 2023). "How George Soros became China's perfect nemesis". The China Project. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Gering, Tuvia (February 16, 2022). "Antisemitism With Chinese Characteristics". Tablet. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  20. ^ "Israel accuses Chinese state TV of 'blatant antisemitism'". Associated Press. May 19, 2021. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  21. ^ "Israel accuses China state TV of 'blatant anti-Semitism'". France 24. Agence France-Presse. May 19, 2021. Archived from the original on May 23, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  22. ^ "Israeli embassy in China blasts state TV broadcaster for 'blatant anti-Semitism'". Times of Israel. May 21, 2021. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  23. ^ Haime, Jordyn (5 August 2022). "This American rabbi is fighting antisemitism in China with online videos". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022. The Fugu Plan never came to fruition, but the antisemitic and ultranationalist political blogger Yu Li (who blogs under the name Sima Nan) has shared the story with his nearly 3 million followers. In a 20-minute-long antisemitic rant, he says the Fugu Plan is evidence that the Jews colluded with the Japanese to establish a Jewish homeland on Chinese territory — a conspiracy that fits a nationalist narrative that China is constantly under attack by foreign powers.
  24. ^ Feingold, Ross Darrell (September 20, 2023). "Antisemitism Exists in China, Too". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 2023-10-13. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  25. ^ Davidson, Helen and Hawkins, Amy (2023-11-09). "China has a history of being pro-Palestinian, but now faces diplomatic conundrum". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  26. ^ Wakabayashi, Daisuke; May, Tiffany; and Fu, Claire (2023-10-28). "As China Looks to Broker Gaza Peace, Antisemitism Surges Online". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2024-08-05. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  27. ^ Ma, Wenhao (2023-10-11). "Antisemitic Comments Flood China's Censored Internet After Hamas Attack". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  28. ^ Yan, Sophia (21 October 2023). "Why a wave of anti-Semitism is sweeping across China". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  29. ^ Qi, Liyan (October 29, 2023). "Antisemitic Comments Increase Across Chinese Social Media". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  30. ^ Xue, Xiaoshan (October 19, 2023). "Chinese Netizens Post Hate-Filled Comments to Israeli Embassy's Online Account". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  31. ^ Wang, Yaqiu (October 23, 2023). "Chinese Social Media Platforms Are Now Awash With Antisemitism". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  32. ^ a b Haime, Jordyn (2023-11-09). "Antisemitism explodes online in China since October 7 massacre". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2024-04-25. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  33. ^ "Chinese Vloggers Glorify Hamas with Cosplay and Posts". Voice of America. 2023-12-19. Archived from the original on 2023-12-20. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  34. ^ Yang, Meng-Li (28 November 2023). "Q&A: Israel's Ambassador Says China's Online Antisemitism Part of Global Phenomenon". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  35. ^ Ma, Wenhao (2024-04-30). "China's state media support protests on US campuses but not at home". Voice of America. Archived from the original on 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  36. ^ "'Hornet's nest' of hateful content after Hamas attack uncovered on Chinese social media". CNN. 26 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  37. ^ Fu, Huimin; Liu, Xiaohan; Gao, Hanrui (30 January 2024). "CNN称中国网友"反犹"遭回怼" [CNN's claim that Chinese netizens are "anti-Semitic" is met with dislike]. Sina (in Simplified Chinese). China Daily. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024. 中国日报欧盟分社社长陈卫华随后回怼，按照CNN的逻辑，联合国甚至全世界大多数人都在煽动"反犹太主义"，因为他们都批评了以色列在加沙的暴行。 [Chen Weihua, head of China Daily's European Union bureau, then responded that, according to CNN's logic, the United Nations and even the majority of the world's population were inciting "anti-Semitism" because they all criticized Israel's atrocities in Gaza.]
  38. ^ Merrill, Jeremy B.; Schaffer, Aaron; and Nix, Naomi (10 October 2024). "A firehose of antisemitic disinformation from China is pointing at two Republican legislators". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 October 2024.
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