Asia In-Depth Podcast: The Coronavirus and Anti-Asian Racism

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In the weeks since the coronavirus spread from China to the rest of the world, racist attacks against Asians have risen sharply. Here in the United States, President Donald Trump and top aides have called COVID-19 the “Chinese virus” or the “Wuhan virus”; a characterization that many found insensitive, misleading, and even dangerous. The president then condemned the attacks, writing on Twitter that it was “very important to protect our Asian American community.” But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others have persisted in using that phrase: “Chinese virus.” And even as the virus now is as much a European and American phenomenon as an Asian one, the anti-Asian incidents continue.

In this episode of Asia In-Depth, two guests with very different perspectives discuss this issue. Leesa Lin is an assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Charlie Woo is the co-founder and CEO of Megatoys and a decades-long advocate for Asian American causes. The two were joined in conversation by Asia Society Executive Vice President Tom Nagorski.