Déni et (d)énonciation du racisme anti-asiatique au temps de la Pandémie de Covid-19

Abstract

En France, comme dans le monde, la pandémie de Covid-19 a porté à leur paroxysme les discours et actes racistes envers les populations d’origine chinoise et, plus largement, asiatique. En nous appuyant sur les verbatims des personnes enquêtées (N=106), réinscrits dans leurs biographies et situés dans la temporalité de la pandémie, cet article montre la variété et l’évolution des postures face au racisme anti-asiatique au sein de la population chinoise en France. Premièrement, nous étudions la posture du déni, présente notamment chez les primoarrivants. Puis, nous examinons la pluralité des registres de (d)énonciation du racisme de la part de primoarrivants, comme de descendants. Enfin, nous analysons les logiques de politisation et d’action collective qui en découlent, en soulignant le rôle catalyseur joué par la pandémie de Covid-19 dans la prise de conscience accrue du racisme au sein de la population chinoise en France.

The politics of Chinese immigrants’ double unbelonging and deglobalization

“…If we temporarily suspend the popular West-versus-China binary thinking, it is possible to recognize that, as I have mentioned earlier, Chinese immigrants are drastically different from one another (L. S. Liu et al, 2022; Wang et al, 2022; Zhou & Yang, 2021). Some are multimillion-dollar investors while others struggle for a living with undocumented status.…”

“…One might say that this is symptomatic of the post-truth era we all live in, only that it is made worse for Chinese immigrants who live across national, ideological, and linguistic borders. It has become a daily struggle for Chinese immigrants to make sense of the different versions of media representations of their reality, as well as competing political values (Wang et al, 2022; Yang et al, 2021). Additionally, according to many of my research participants, these pervasive gaps have created difficulties for them in communicating with their contacts in China.…”

Counter-Frames Against Anti-Asian Racism During the Corona Pandemic in Berlin – Coping With Exclusion, Creating Belonging and Organising Resistance

“…The legalisation of Vietnamese former contract workers was not decided until 1997. To make ends meet, many started small businesses or diners and a small fraction got involved with informal activities such as selling untaxed cigarettes (Weiss, 2017). In this context, the derogatory trope of a “cigarette mafia” emerged, framing all people of Vietnamese heritage as part of organised crime.…”

“…In Germany, beginning in 2020 "China" was frequently used in racist media narratives related to the virus (korientation, 2021a;Xiao, 2022); such narratives of China have existed since the German colonial regime of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the Asia-Pacific region (Leutner, 2022). In European countries such as Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, and France, the association of the virus with China also sparked increasing hostility and racist attacks against people who are perceived as "East Asian" or "Southeast Asian" (Broekroelofs and Poerwoatmodjo, 2021;Miyake, 2021;Wang and Madrisotti, 2021;Wang et al, 2022;White, 2021). The increase of anti-Asian racism in Germany was, at the level of discourse, specifically directed towards Chinese migrants (Zhou, 2022).…”

“Thanks for Getting Me in Touch with Local Politicians!”

“…The latest MigraChiCovid research emphasizes in particular the racialization of the disease, and highlights the key role played by the AJCF in the associative response to this development of anti-Asian racism. The MigraChiCovid study shows that the reactions and responses vary according to the different groups' migratory status, age and social status, closely related to the political and racial socialization of each individual (Wang et al 2022). Compared to first-generation migrants, descendants are more familiar with racism and ethno-racial discrimination and are more likely to report the racist attacks they have experienced.…”