Stay Safe？- A Story Uncovering Racism Against the Chinese in the UK
This play is adapted from real racist attacks. Theatrical artistic work cannot be used as legal evidence.
Author: Yaxin Luo
Duration: Around 90 minutes
Year of creation: 2021
Scene 1
Visual image: Cheng Peng stands on the stage.
Central action: Cheng Peng introduces himself.
Duration: 5 minutes.
Video showing: Cheng Peng stands on the podium, facing the students.
Cheng Peng: Hello to all! Welcome to the University of Southampton and welcome to my classroom for Financial Management. My name is Cheng Peng and I’ve been teaching this module for the past six years. As I explore this topic with different groups of students every year, I always find myself learning something new. Now, I can’t wait to start this brand new journey with you!
Finance and economics are by nature social sciences. Although by the look of it, all we work with are numbers. But behind those numbers are people from all walks of life. We need to constantly remind ourselves to look beyond statistics and models, to stay current with what’s happening in our society, both at home and abroad. As an academic, I believe that our research should take a problem-based approach. With hard work and patience, we’ll make a difference and make the world a better place. Without further ado, let’s get this lecture started.
End of video. Cheng Peng walks to centre stage.
Cheng Peng: Hi everyone, I’m Cheng Peng. Many have mistaken my name with another Peng, a Chinese mythical creature in the form of a giant bird. But my name is actually the Peng in “Pengyou” (朋友), which means “friend” in English. My full name, Cheng Peng, means ‘to become friends’. I come from an ordinary family in Tianjin, China. Instead of fame and wealth, my parents wished that I would grow up to be kind to others and make friends wherever I go. As for me, I believe we are all friends and families no matter where we are or where we come from in the world.
I came to England in 2014. I was 30 years old when I arrived. In China, we have a saying, “Sanshi Er Li”(三十而立), literally meaning, firmly established at the age of 30. It describes that our personal value as well as our views of ourselves and the wider world normally get to develop further and stabilise in our 30s. We have our own principles and we are able to take full responsibility for important decisions in our lives. At this turning point, I graduated from my PhD programme in Finland, received tenure from my university in England, and moved with my girlfriend (chuckling), who is now my wife, to settle down in the UK.
I’ve always had a longing to come to England. The celebrated gentlemanly tradition, lively academic scene, ever-evolving scientific research, democracy, freedom, diversity, openness, inclusion – there are countless reasons why I found this land so charming. I decided to build my life here, play my part in my community and make a difference, no matter how big or small, to the lives around me.
Two and a half years ago, my son was born. From falling to the ground to babbling, this little life has soothed the heavy pains caused by the death of my parents, brought endless joy and surprises to my little family, and taught me about responsibility.
I live a very simple life – it revolves around lectures, research, sports, taking care of my kid. But I love it for its peace and pleasure. We find happiness in our everyday life. This is the life I’ve always dreamed of.
Scene 2
Visual image: Cheng Peng lies in a pool of blood.
Central action: Four men humiliate and attack Cheng Peng.
Duration: 10 minutes.
Cheng Peng jogs in sportswear. 15 seconds later.
Cheng Peng: So much food and no workout… It’s time to shake off this holiday fat from Lunar Spring Festival. (Checking his watch) A few laps more, then off to pick up my little boy from kindergarten!
Cheng Peng continues jogging. 15 seconds later, the sound of a car approaches on the other side of the road. A few young people in their early 20s in the car start shouting aggressively.
A: Fuck you Chinese virus!
B: Son of a bitch!
C: Go back to your disgusting country!
D: Dirty chink, go to hell!
A: Die you fucker!
B: GET OUT OF GREAT BRITAIN!
C: Fuck you!
D: Fuck your mother!
A: Fuck your wife!
B: Fuck your children!
C: Fuck your virus family!
D: Yellow trash!
The people in the car laugh and keep yelling while they drive off. In the face of such attacks and humiliation, Cheng Peng is feeling a surge of anger and decides not to stay silent.
Cheng Peng: Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!
As he sees the car driving away, Cheng Peng readjusts himself and resumes his jog.
Cheng Peng: (deep breath) I’m not going to waste my time on this…
A minute later, the sound of the car returns to approach Cheng Peng and stops, following a sharp squeak of breaks.
Cheng Peng goes up to confront the car.
Cheng Peng: What do you want?
A: Kill off the Chinese virus!
People from the car start to get out and beat up Cheng Peng before he can react.
Cheng Peng: What do you think you are doing? Is there no justice?! (Light dims. Fighting sounds. Painful moaning sounds.)
Voice-over from Cheng Peng plays, interlaced with sounds of attacks.
Cheng Peng (Voice-over, weakening gradually): How can they do this to a complete stranger? How can this happen in broad daylight? (Pause) There are cars parked with people inside! (Pause) They are driving away (very disappointed, pause, excited again). There’s someone passing by! (Pause) He ran away (again, very disappointed)… It’s still light, people must have noticed… Someone must have called the police. They must be on their way… A truck drives by. They can help me! (Sound of truck approaching and leaving)… I must memorise their number plate, xxxxx18, xxxxx18, xxxxx18, xxxxx18 (Cheng Peng falls to the ground, landing heavily on his head. The attack continues… Attackers realise something is going wrong and flee)… xxxxx18 … help me, please, help…
Lights go off. Silence for one minute.
Bystander A (voice-over, dialling to call an ambulance): I found someone unconscious on the ground, there’s blood everywhere! Please send an ambulance!
Bystander B (voice-over, dialling to call the police): Someone needs help!
Silence for 30 seconds. Sounds of ambulance playing for 1 minute.
Cheng Peng (speaking in extremely weak voice): Darling, I got injured… Don’t worry. Go get our boy first!
Scene 3
Visual image: Cheng Peng sits in front of the computer.
Central action: Cheng Peng sends an email to media.
Duration: 10 minutes.
Cheng Peng: I heard the sound of my knees knocking heavily on the ground, and then my head. My face and body were in pain. I fell into great darkness… Two kind passers-by called the ambulance and the police. Before I was unconscious, I heard the lady was called Elsa. I’d always remember this name and be grateful towards her.
I went straight home after hospital. Besides the usual meal, there is soft porridge specially cooked for me. My wife was calm. (Voice-over) “I understand what you’ve been through. Please be sure to stay safe”. Her voice is peaceful. Maybe she was trying to hide her emotions, so as not to worry me or our child. Maybe she was not surprised since we’d already heard enough horrifying news about hate against Chinese these days. Ever since the epidemic began, we had sensed the even more unfriendly environment. We just never thought there would be an attack so soon, so unexpectedly against us.
At night, my two-and-half-year-old child seemed to be aware of something. He walked quietly to my side, with doubt and worry in his eyes. He touched my head with his hand and kissed my wound carefully. He took my hand and whispered, (voice-over) “Daddy, don’t cry. Daddy, don’t cry…” I felt so heart-broken that all the tears I’d been holding back burst out at once. Deep down I got this great fear that, if my child had been with me when the attack happened, would I have been able to protect him? When facing four anti-Asian men, strong and violent, would my child have a way out? Even if my child was lucky enough to survive the physical attack, how traumatizing would it be for him, to witness his father being humiliated and brutally beaten by a gang of strangers in broad daylight? The scene replayed again and again in my brain. I could not stand anymore “ifs”.
I still don’t understand where the grudge comes from. They were so furious that I believe they wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me if they could. Why did it happen to me when I was just jogging near my own home? Why did not even one single person stand up and stop them? There was a racist attack against four Chinese uni students just months ago, not even a year. How could the same thing happen again?
The four young men who attacked me didn’t look fierce at all. On the contrary, they looked ordinary, wearing ordinary clothes, driving an ordinary car. They could be anyone we meet every day. They don’t live here; they were just driving by. But they would harm anyone they come across just because of his or her race. If the unlucky one hadn’t been me, it might have been another person, or more people. I wasn’t and definitely won’t be the only victim. They were so young, so cowardly and pitiful. Instead of being productive and contributing to our society, they chose to verbally and physically abuse others for mere malicious fun and fulfilment, for some evil pleasure and sense of belonging stemming from ridiculous arrogance and racism.
Maybe they thought they were doing the right thing as they were determined and fearless. How dare they! The ignorant, shameless, harmful… None of them has apologised. None of them felt guilty. They were still out there, being able to commit another attack anywhere, anytime. What is worth reflecting about on this issue is that, how has our society becomes the poisonous ground for such a ticking bomb? How could these young people possibly think that it’s ok to commit such blatant crimes and easily get away with it? What makes them so sure?
The more I thought about it, the more disturbed I felt. I wished I could find them immediately, reason with them, and fight with them. I turned on my computer, planning to post about it. However, when I saw my face clearly reflected on the screen, I hesitated. I’m a university lecturer. I always look decent and nice and full of life in front of my students and colleagues. But now I’m broken. My face broken; my body broken. What a strange and inconsistent image I have now! More importantly, if I make it public, would it trigger the racists more and bring danger or even revenge to me and my family?
Till late in the night, I felt exhausted. But the pain in my body and the struggle in my heart made it impossible for me to get any sleep. I recalled the face of a Chinese soldier in the news recently. He was involved in a series of border conflicts. Blood ran down his face, but he was not giving in. I instantly felt encouraged and made up my mind. In the face of illegal assaults, being silent is giving consent to be treated like that. And then, the same things will happen again and again. More innocent people will suffer. The order of our society will fall apart. It’s not just about my race or nationality anymore. As an adult in his prime, I must take responsibility, pluck up my courage, and stand up for social justice and protect the innocent. I no longer feel helpless. I’m ready. (Pause) Finally, I was able to have a short sound sleep.
Next morning, I delivered a three-hour accounting management lecture to over 100 students as usual. I turned off my video as I didn’t want my students to be distracted and worry about me. During the class, my nose wouldn’t stop bleeding because I kept speaking. I had to use cotton buds again and again. Fortunately, although I sounded weird, I managed to get through. My feelings changed when facing my students. They were no longer just the class I was teaching; they were also citizens who lived in the same society as me.
Just the thought that the criminals who attacked me were still at large; that maybe more people like them or other potential racists were hiding in the crowd, ready to prey on someone else; that what happened to me yesterday could happen to my students too at any time, scared me. I realised my duty. So I went to the place of the attack again after class, trying to find evidence. Unfortunately, the incident happened in a residential area and there was no monitoring around. Which meant that there was no evidence to confirm the criminals’ identities. After that, I exposed the attack to the media, which was described as a “racist hate crime” by the police in the hope it would gain more attention and attract more witnesses and clues.
Cheng Peng opens the computer and begins writing an email.
(Voice-over)
To whom it may concern：
I hope this email finds you well.
I was the victim of a racist street attack yesterday in Southampton.
Attached is a photo.
I can be contacted on xxxxx xxxxxx. The police incident number is xxxx.
Best regards
Peng
Scene 4
Visual image: Cheng Peng stands on the stage.
Central action: Cheng Peng shares emails he has received.
Duration: 30 minutes.
The first media outlet that replied to me and reported the incident was the Daily Echo. Before long, many caring emails filled my inbox (different voice-overs for different emails).
(voice-over)
Dear Peng,
We as a student body are disgusted and appalled by the hate crime that you experienced. While you don’t teach me or my classmates, we want you to know that we appreciate everything you do for the students in your care. We are proud to have a lecturer like you, and we sincerely hope you are recovering well. Please don’t forget that you are an inspiration to us, and we wish you happiness and health in all your endeavours.
(voice-over)
I was an Accounting and Finance student at University of Southampton from 2014-2018 and remember your lectures and seminars fondly. I appreciate that this message does not do a lot to help, but I just wanted to reach out to say that I am incredibly grateful for the presence and impact you had on my education. I remember some very helpful feedback on a piece of Knowledge Management coursework which spurred me on to work harder and do better! You were a great lecturer and I’m so sorry to hear about the ordeal you went through. I really hope you are doing okay.
(voice-over)
Hello, Peng. As an immigrant teaching in another British university, I wanted to say how shocked, outraged, and sorry I was to hear about the attack on you. I hope you are recovering well and that your life is not affected too much going forward. I am pleased to see that the police have made an arrest, and hopefully all of the perpetrators will be identified and punished for their evil actions.
(voice-over)
I was shocked, appalled and frankly disgusted when I read the news article recently. No one at all, ever deserves to experience something like that. Sometimes in the dark days it can really be hard to find any light. Well, I just want you to know how thankful I am to you – writing a dissertation, let alone during a pandemic, probably rates highly on what should be a rather stressful experience. Because of you, that experience has been far from it. The support you’ve given me as my dissertation supervisor during the pandemic has been second to none and for that I’m incredibly grateful.
(voice-over)
Dear Dr Cheng:
Hello! I was a student who contacted you when I was preparing for my PhD application in 2018. You gave me a lot of valuable suggestions and kind responses. Although I did not apply again due to funding issues, your reply gave me a lot of warmth and strength in my difficult, confused period.
I didn’t expect to contact you again in this way after I read the news about your injury. I felt heartache and extremely angry. The sudden occurrence of this kind of incident is a great harm to people, both physically and psychologically. Please do take care of your body and your mind. These evil people must pay a heavy price and public opinion will give you justice.
It is not easy to study or work in a foreign country, let alone be recognised by mainstream society. Being able to teach in a top university fully demonstrates your ability and dedication. These racists rely on their own “home court” advantage to illegally vent their irrational anger – they are useless losers and should be punished by society.
Hope you recover as soon as possible! Take care in this special period!
(voice-over)
Hi Peng. It’s good to find a fellow alumnus, but really bad to read such news. It must have been a very tough time for you and your family. We’re so sorry about the recent incident that happened on you and do hope that it will never happen again! Our school is currently looking for outstanding young scholars in accounting and finance. If you would like to consider a job back in China, to build more connections with scholars here, please feel free to contact me.
(voice-over)
You don’t know me, but I’ve recently joined the University as one of the Chaplains. I am so sorry that you had to endure this evil attack – and any general aura of racism, and my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I expect and hope that the University has provided any support that you might need, but Chaplains at the Faith and Reflection Centre are certainly always there for you, should you wish. No need to respond – and if there’s been a deluge of support for you then I hope it is an encouragement rather than an administrative burden!
(voice-over)
I apologise for all the pain you have suffered as a result of the recent attack. I hope you don’t mind but we have started a petition after reading about what happened to you and I have used photos of yourself and another victim. We thought it was a powerful visual to try to get the message out. Please do contact me if you have any questions and we wish you all the best to help with your and your family’s recovery.
Cheng Peng: Soon, more and more media from the UK and other countries joined the report. More and more people have taken action to support me and anti-racism. The way this incident spread far exceeded my expectations.
Many people shared similar experiences and concerns with me. I realise that, as a random incident, what I suffered may happen to everyone, but not necessarily every victim has enough channels to allow them to speak up or receive such social attention.
After years’ studying and working across the world, I know lots of people and have access to some resources, so it is relatively easier to speak out. This might also have something to do with my career as a university teacher. I can not only get help and support from the school, but also from people whose professions are public welfare-related, such as teachers and doctors, who are more likely to arouse public sympathy if they get brutally attacked.
For whatever reason, since the incident has caused widespread concern, and I can speak out now, I must do my best to speak up for myself, for our minority ethnic group, and for the community of mankind that shares a future. I hope other victims’ experiences can also be understood and paid attention to by more people and can trigger more reflections and actions.
The first story I’d like to share comes from a Chinese student who studied for a master’s degree in our school from 2017 to 2018, who expressed his sincere empathy and the dilemma we share in common:
(voice-over)
I can’t believe my eyes that the bloody teacher in front of the screen is you, who is highly respected by all of us. I feel very angry!
In recent years, we all know that there have been serious antagonisms and conflicts in public opinion in different parts of the world. The citizens of Western countries have deep hatred and resistance against Asian countries, especially China, while China also exhibits a strong rejection of Westerners.
As a student who once studied in Southampton, I understand that you as a Chinese missionary abroad are under great spiritual pressure, which not only comes from the abuse of Western white and black people, but also from the incomprehension and slander of Chinese compatriots. But please cheer up and build up your confidence in the future! This is all caused by the tearing up of society itself. We’ve done nothing wrong. All the haze will be gone and a sunny day will come in the near future.
Cheng Peng: A Chinese compatriot who has studied and worked in the UK for 23 years also wrote to me:
(voice-over)
We don’t know each other, but I feel we share so much in common. Therefore, I can empathise so much with what happened to you. I’ve been studying, working, and living in the UK for 25 years; I came to the UK in 1996 and have experienced many racial slurs or racially aggravated incidents. Each time I have chosen to stay silent and not react. But your story inspired me and I truly believe that we should come together in solidarity and fight against racism.
Since the campaign started, many have shared it on different social media platforms to raise awareness. I think we should continue, and this abuse is not something we should tolerate! Please be sure that I, our Chinese community – and others, – all support you! We stay strong and are in solidarity with you.
Cheng Peng: A Chinese kid who grew up in the UK told me about her unhappy experience.
(voice-over)
I know that you’re not one of my lecturers and we haven’t met before, but I just wanted to say I’m so sorry that this happened to you and wanted to send my kind regards. Growing up Chinese in the UK has made me realise how racism towards Asians is so normalised in Western countries. It’s disgusting behaviour and should never happen in the first place. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that, and I respect you so much for speaking out to the news about everything to spread awareness of Asian discrimination and racism. I really hope that the group of men who attacked you are caught and arrested so that you and your family can feel safe.
Cheng Peng: This letter may be a true portrayal of many Chinese children who grew up in the UK, which reminds me of my son. Does he have to grow up while getting accustomed to racism? Will he encounter a sudden attack one day because of his colour like me, and must my family worry about this ticking timebomb all the time? Will he write to a victim who has suffered racial discrimination someday to comfort him? I care about my son, and all children growing up in this society. A British boy named Richard shared with me the violence he had suffered:
(voice-over)
Dear Peng,
So sorry to hear you have experienced this – it is deeply unpleasant, and I hope the police find the culprits and give them what they deserve. It has happened to me on more than one occasion, though many years ago now. It really shakes you up but over time you will recover – have no doubt about that. The thing for me was that it impacted my faith in human nature – and it took some time to come back but it did. It was restored in part by other people’s responses to what happened!
Cheng Peng: Like Richard, after being attacked, I felt a strong sense of helplessness and deep doubts and distrust towards humanity. Of course, I believe this will be restored. I have personally experienced that this kind of shock and disappointment towards human nature is no less painful than physical pain.
Hate crimes caused by racial discrimination are one type of violent crime. In essence, they are all about innocent people suffering illegal and immoral violations. Any violent crime, for whatever reason, should be stopped, condemned, and punished.
A British father who married an Asian wife and is now teaching in a university in Singapore wrote to me about his concerns:
(voice-over)
As a UK citizen I am disgusted that you have been treated in this manner and feel shame at the actions of these racist morons. My wife is Japanese, and my children will be going to school in the UK later this year. It makes me both sad and angry that I need to alert them to the possibility of racist attacks based on how they look. Outside of this incident, I hope that your experience of living in the UK has been enjoyable and valuable. I strongly believe that the more interaction that we have across borders, the better people can understand that we are all part of one humanity. I wish you a speedy recovery and I am deeply sorry for this disgraceful attack.
With kind regards,
Tom
Cheng Peng: I am surprised to find the subject of his email was “My apologies”. The real criminals escaped without guilt, but such a warm and kind British citizen sincerely apologised to me for what happened in his home country. As a father, I deeply empathise with his worries. I am very worried about the risks that he and his family may take in the future. He is right. We must unite across national borders to protect our children and many more.
A little girl I’ve never met before wrote a lovely letter to me:
(voice-over)
Hello, my name is Andrea and I’m 9 years old.
I’ve recently heard about what happened to you and I wanted to make sure that you are OK. It was really saddening to see something so violent on the news, and it made me realise that this is happening to others all the time, and yet people like me hardly hear about it.
I hope you and your family are well, and you make a speedy recovery.
I don’t know if you’ll ever read this but, either way, I wanted you to know not everyone is like this. There are people who are trying, day by day, to make the world a better place. For everyone!
I hope nothing like this will ever happen to you again,
Andrea 🙂
Cheng Peng: She adds a big smile at the end of letter. Andrea must be an angel. I believe what this angel said: there are many people, every day, working hard to make this world a better place. A colleague also wrote to say:
(voice-over)
These are disgusting examples of human beings – no, these animals are not a true representation of how normal people think. I am glad at least one of the perpetrators will face the consequences of their actions. Hopefully all of them will be identified and punished. I would hate for you to be driven to go home because of this but I can understand why you feel this way!
Cheng Peng: I am moved by her greeting and replied that “I will not leave the UK just because of these animals; they are just cowards and a tiny portion of the population.” They are cowards, aren’t they? With no rational thinking, no courage to speak of, only knowing and using inferior insults and bullying atrocities to get a sad pleasure.
A 14-year-old British boy wrote me an interesting letter.
(voice-over)
Hi mate. You don’t know me and I don’t know you but I’ve seen the news lately and, frankly, I think it’s disgusting. I’m sure you are a very hard-working man, just trying to go for a jog when these little pricks decided to hurt you. I know how it feels, it’s really not okay, I’m only 14 but you’ve got a kid as well! The chances are you won’t reply to this but even you reading it is okay. I really hope you get justice and heal up soon, you deserve the world and more mate – you ever need a chat, I’m here.
Cheers,
Peter
Cheng Peng: Thanks Peter!
We are living in an era of globalisation. In addition to our nationality, we are also citizens of Earth. Anti-racism is not a war between colours, instead, it is people of all different colours united against discrimination and violence towards any innocent human beings. Finally, I want to share a letter from an Englishman who had lived in China for many years and who sent me condolences carefully written in Chinese, which I’ve translated:
(voice-over)
Dear Peng,
I am very sorry this happened when you were a guest in my country. I wish the doctors and nurses will take good care of you and your body will recover day by day.
I’ve lived in Beijing, China for more than nine years, and only came back to London about a year ago. In those years, I’ve always been very grateful to my friends, colleagues and neighbours in China who are willing to help and support me when encountering difficulties. This time, if you need any help I can provide, please let me know.
I know your English is much better than my Chinese! I write to you in Chinese to show humanity and unity.
Come on, bro Peng! Get well soon!
Cheng Peng: He ended this email with his Chinese name, which is pronounced the same as “future” in Chinese. What will our future be like? What will the world be like for our next generation, or the generation after that? I’ve no idea. But our future lies in our hands; what the society we live in will be like is up to everyone. Right?!
Cheng Peng leaves the stage. Lights off. 30 seconds later, lights on.
(PPT subtitles) This play is adapted from a real racist attack:
On the afternoon of 23rd February 2021, Wang Peng, a lecturer at the University of Southampton, went jogging in his neighbourhood. At one point, a car suddenly approached him from the other side of the street. People in the car attacked and assaulted him with discriminatory racial slurs. Wang Peng protested verbally. Within less than a minute, the car returned. The previous attackers exited the vehicle and started beating up Wang Peng. The police called this event a ‘racially aggravated hate crime’. The incident attracted media attention and sparked heated debates both within the UK and internationally. People from around the world participated in social media campaigns such as ‘Solidarity with #DrWang. Stand up to racism’, ‘Run or walk for Dr Wang’.
Presenting a series of real documents and archives, including photos of Wang Peng being attacked, media reports of this event, people’s supporting photos and voice-over towards Dr Wang.
According to international statistics on racism, updated in April 2020, the number of hate crimes has risen gradually since 2015. Among reported cases, about 80% were racially aggravated every year. There were 103,379 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2018/19, an increase of ten per cent compared with 2017/18 (94,121 offences).
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and within the first three months of 2020, a surge in crimes against Chinese people and people of Chinese descent was recorded in the UK: from 360 cases in 2018 and 375 cases in 2019, to 267 cases within just the first three months of 2020. Hate crime against the Chinese-British, Southeast and East Asian communities increased by 300% within the first quarter of 2020.
On Twitter, the number of tweets encouraging violence against Chinese people and people of Chinese descent increased by 900%. The number of hits on websites and posts relating to anti-Asian hate increased by 200% globally. Behind these numbers are millions of real lives and families – each of them is also someone’s beloved family member, child, parent, husband or wife…
Scene 5
Visual image: Seven people stand in line on the stage.
Central action: Seven people speak out about their stories/statements towards racism.
Duration: 35 minutes.
People come up to the stage one by one, holding anti-racism signs. Each person stands for a story or a standpoint from a certain perspective.
Story 1 Chinese Chef
Zhang Shugui: I’m Zhang Shugui, from Shan Dong, China. I’ve been cooking in a Chinese restaurant in the West Midlands for more than 20 years. Six months ago, we received a letter (taking the letter from his pocket and reading painfully):
You fucking rotten scumbag Chinese.
You are the fucking reason there is coronavirus in the United Kingdom and around the world.
I and my friends and family will boycott your filthy Chinese restaurants.
You filthy rotten yellow scumbags.
Will never use your filthy restaurants and takeaways.
Hope you all fucking well go out of business.
Go back to China you fucking lot of evil bastards and get coronavirus yourselves.
You filthy Chinese cooks should go back to dirty China.
Look at Facebook and Twitter and see the horrendous videos of the Chinese bastards. Go back to China all you filthy yellow bastards. May you rot in hell! All of you!
Pass this on to your fellow Chinese bastards. You should all fucking well go back to China. Or we’ll kill you!
Since then, we kept receiving harassing calls and anonymous threatening letters. One month later, when I closed the door, and on the way back home, a few people suddenly ran over and deliberately spat at me, cursing: “Go to hell!” Then they stripped off my clothes and set them on fire. After that, they threw me naked into a trash can and climbed up one by one to pee on my head, mouth, eye, ear… During this process, they forced me to repeat “I am a chink. I am a virus. I should go to hell”, and they attacked me once I stopped. The moment they found I couldn’t repeat anymore, they stuffed a bloody dead mouse into my mouth, and threatened me with a knife, claiming if I dared to spit it out, they would kill me immediately… they tortured me until I completely fainted.
I was found by my colleague in the trash bin and later struggled to recover from the brink of death. There is a Chinese saying: “A dumb man tastes the bitter herbs – he has to suffer in silence.” In past decades, in the face of racism humiliation, I chose to endure. One reason is my poor English; another is when I reported such things to the police, they just come to smooth down the matter. They care more about how to settle things without adding to their workload, rather than truly helping us. This time, I never bear again because it’s far beyond my limitation! I must speak aloud and resist!
Story 2 Asian Racism Victim
Ying Zi: My name is Ying Zi. On 23rd April 2005, I witnessed my partner Yang being murdered in a race attack by a gang of over 20 white youths. He was attacked outside his takeaway catering unit in Lancashire. The CCTV camera captured the events leading up to the killing, presenting the violent intent of the assailants, and our desperate attempts to protect our business and lives.
The tragedy was a culmination of a targeted campaign of harassment by local youths against the business. Before that, we made many attempts to elicit support from authorities, but pleas for help went unanswered.
The trial for those charged with murder began at Liverpool Crown Court on 24th October 2005. I was arrested and charged simply because I was carrying a stick to defend myself and my business. How would you feel if you got punished after being attacked and witnessing the most important person in your life being cruelly killed?
After the murder, I still lived in conditions without any protection or safety measures until the trial. I had to bear constant harassment from guys closely linked with the perpetrators. They waged a vociferous local campaign to support these murderers and continuously demanded that I be re-arrested.
With tenacity and determination, I survived… physically. What does survival mean if my partner is dead, the business I’d been devoted to for decades is ruined, and I remain isolated?
Due to my nationality, I was stereotyped as being self-reliant, and I’ve not been offered any kind of support that other families of murder victims have had. I left the UK soon after the trial feeling deeply demoralised. One day during an interview on racist crimes, I was surprised to find that in the UK, the roads to justice for many victims of violent racism were even harder than it was for me.
Story 3 Black British Police
I’m a police officer from Hampshire. It is hard to believe how some officers’ behaviours go completely against the public expectation, and their oath to uphold fundamental human rights, and accord equal respect to all people when they take the office of constable. But it’s true that in the police teams there do exist members who did – or are still doing – something terrible. They call poor people ‘pikeys’; call women ‘whores’, ‘sluts’, ‘sweet tits’, ‘a fucking Doris’; refer to suspects as ‘fucking cunts’; black people as ‘pavement special’, which means a mixed-breed dog, and the place a black officer works as ‘Africa corner’; they call Chinese ‘chinks’, or directly damn them as being a virus. Most horribly, as recorded by a covert bug, some of them seriously organised a crime unit that wished foreigners would die!
These officers undermined the trust and confidence of our communities, and damaged the reputations of their colleagues who respect people and uphold the values and standards rightly. Although these things have been reported at the beginning of this year and some of those responsible have been punished, it’s still hard to make sure these things won’t happen again. We must be alert and take action, keeping open and transparent! Especially when the pandemic has provided a great excuse and opportunity for racists to take centre stage and grow stronger.
According to the 2011 Census, the total population of England and Wales was 56.1 million, and 86% of the population was white. People from Asian ethnic groups made up the second largest percentage of the population (at 7.5%), followed by black ethnic groups (at 3.3%), mixed ethnic groups (at 2.2%) and other ethnic groups (at 1%).
As Chinese and Asian communities in the UK are faced with increased hatred and violence, other minority ethnic groups are also affected. When our society tolerates widespread discrimination against one social group, it aggravates the vulnerability of other groups and threatens the integrity of the entire social structure.
In a civilised and legal society, any form of discrimination and violence should be punished. If discrimination prevails in a society, particularly among police officers, social cohesion and social justice will be damaged. Society will collapse! I know it takes a lot of courage to report, but we hope that victims can bravely disclose, and bystanders can actively intervene. No matter whether you are police or citizens, whatever your colour is, no matter who commits discrimination and crimes, please report and fight against it. Silence and endurance only help the evil.
Story 4 White British anti-racist officer
I’m Scott and I work at a victim-oriented, anti-racist and human rights group. In contrary to the established myth of the Chinese being a satisfied community that is immune from racism, the fact is that the Chinese community suffers from levels of racism that are not only unacceptable but also, given the prevalence of under-reporting within the Chinese community, there are perhaps even higher levels of racial violence or harassment than those experienced by any other minority group. Racism is rife even among the most ‘successful’ sections of the Chinese community in all its forms. Despite objective studies on this issue, this fact is rarely acknowledged or addressed more widely.
The types of racist abuse suffered by the UK’s Chinese people range from racist name-calling to damage to property and businesses, arson, and physical attacks sometimes involving hospitalisation and murder.
Political beautification is not conducive to social progress. Frankly speaking, the criminal justice system in the UK is sometimes indifferent. It seems that most criminal justice agencies froze when it came to applying the most basic of the Lawrence Inquiry recommendations to Chinese victims.
According to our research on Chinese victims, most of the criticisms of the criminal justice system were against the police. The effectiveness of reporting arrangements and police responses to Chinese victims of hate crimes are seriously doubted. Many Chinese are used to enduring quietly when being attacked, and even when some Chinese victims persist in reporting race crimes, including serious offences, they frequently face a response that is shaped by institutional racism – a state of inaction and denial.
On another front, the British media has not played a sufficiently effective role in issues involving racial discrimination and hatred crimes. Even the mainstream media appeared unmoved by such murders. It sees these tragedies as affecting only a small percentage of the British population, which is not regarded as being part of the mainstream. British Chinese people are only deemed newsworthy if they conform to acknowledged negative stereotypes – whether as members of ‘triads’ or as mass victims of gangs or gangmasters – or, at the other extreme, as so-called positive role models as high achievers in business or academia.
Story 5 Chinese Student
Liu Chang: On 17th March 2020, I was having dinner with three classmates in the city centre, and we were assaulted by racist attackers. Two days later, it was reported by the BBC, “the three men and a woman, who were wearing medical face masks, were attacked by a group in St Vincents Walk on Tuesday, shortly after 20:00 GMT. Their injuries are not thought to be serious.”
However, the truth is that the four of us, three women and a man, instead of ‘three men and a woman’, went through five racist attacks within only two hours. The worst one was from a group of people, four young men and six young women. They followed us from the city centre all the way back to our accommodation, while constantly harassing us, verbally assaulting and provoking us. They attacked us in every way that they could think of, including but not limited to spitting on us, hitting us with a trolley they took from a nearby shop, throwing rocks at us, crashing shopping carts from supermarket into us and throwing billboards at us, beating and banging our heads against the wall while multiple people cornered one of us…
Our dormitory was destroyed and we were hurt. However, when the parents of these attackers rushed to our dorm after getting calls from their children, they started shouting at us! ‘Who is bullying my child?!’ These parents totally ignored the fact that their children were the perpetrators and we were the victims. These parents even violently tried to drive us away somewhere else. Their anger and hostility added to the trauma we experienced. While these parents were trying to protect their children from harm, we are also loved by our parents, who were on the other side of the world, knowing nothing about the violence we were being subjected to.
Our parents worked extra hard in China, just to support us to study in the UK, with the expensive tuition fees and living expenses that are several times higher than local students. It takes us a long time to tell our parents that we had been assaulted and beaten up, rather than gaining the knowledge in a safe environment as they expected, although they paid such a big price for us.
While the attackers were young, their unbelievable behaviour and violent means were chilling. They kept shouting and attacking, even after the police arrived. ‘It was these chinks that brought the virus over! We are only eliminating danger for our people!’
Everything was recorded by our dorm’s security camera and we had sufficient evidence to prove this attack. However, we have waited for a year without a decision from the court. To make things worse, a year after this attack, we had not received any form of apology from the perpetrators or their families, not even a simple ‘sorry.’ Apparently, they did not think it was wrong to attack innocent people.
We didn’t want to cause any trouble and we tried to be tolerant. After all, we do not belong here. But my question is, how far can your tolerance bend when others are treating you in such an inhumane way? We came back to China. The expectations and hopes we had for the UK were shattered. I don’t think anyone would remain in a society where racist violence is tolerated, the media does not care about the suffering of the marginalised, and the law fails to provide the protection people desperately need.
As statistics show, ESEA people in the UK are one of the fastest growing ‘ethnic’ groupings, with the highest percentage of international students. In my master’s year, there were 281,460 international students from Asia coming to study in the UK full of hope and aspirations, yet we are faced with the brutal reality of racism and struggling to be heard. Every one of us deserves to be seen, respected and valued, not just for the amount of tuition paid, but more so for being valuable members of this diverse society.
Recently, we heard that another attack happened to one of the teaching staff in the university and felt extremely disappointed. I cannot imagine who will be the next victim of this widespread hatred.
Story 6 White British Teacher
My name is Jessica and I’m a primary school teacher. Last week, during class, a white student of mine suddenly started yelling at an Asian student in our classroom. ‘You virus! Get out of here!’ He threw his pen at her, and then his book. I rushed to stop him and tried to talk to him. He turned to me yelling, ‘I’m only getting rid of the virus! The American president claimed they are virus! Why are you helping them? They should all be destroyed!’ He started throwing a book at me as well.
I was shocked and extremely saddened. I’ve always known this student as kind and respectful towards teachers and his peers – why has he become so violent and full of hatred? A child is like a blank piece of paper, and the imprint of adults will be completely etched on them. As long as politicians are creating hostility and spewing hate in public for their own political gain, the innocence of our children will be under threat by their toxicity and stupidity, which infiltrates every corner of the society. In fact, the majority of perpetrators of racist crimes against victims are young people. But why do our children, our students, the group who are supposed to be well guided and embrace a promising future, pay for some adults’ selfish parochialism, weakness and evil conspiracies?
Our education must reflect and be responsible: both school and family education. As a teacher, I strongly believe that there is indeed a need for a review of the curriculum in schools with specific case studies, statistics, and legislation on hate crime, to ensure that it includes a substantial input on racial diversity and cultural awareness of different ethnic groups in the UK. We must make racial equality and racial diversity good practice in our education and evaluation and take steps when dealing with racism, rather than using ineffective slogans or evading responsibility.
There is also a need for national or local evaluations of the progress, effectiveness and impact of the Department for Children, Schools and Families policies and advice to schools on countering racist bullying.
Anti-racism and protecting our children from both inflicting damage and being attacked is not just a matter for families or social organisations; it requires the cooperation and supervision of the whole society. Every one of us is responsible!
Story 7 White city officer
From my great-grandfather to me, our family has lived and served in this city for four generations. As an occupant and the manager of this city, I feel very sad when talking about these awful changes that have happened here.
Our city used to have a prosperous business and trade centre, a vast source of international students and tourists, making it competitive and attractive for foreign investment and outstanding talents in various industries. However, due to the increased racial discrimination and attacks, this city’s originally good public order has been broken, its international reputation gets worse, international students, tourists, investors, and talents have been heavily discouraged. This has also led to an economic downturn, business closures, increased unemployment, loss of vitality and all-round decline in the city. It’s really time to unite strongly to resist racial discrimination and hate crimes, to restore the cohesion, competitiveness, diversity, civilisation and prosperity of our city.
Many people endure or look on silently in the face of racism and hate, but we need more and more people to stand up bravely and speak out loudly, to say “It’s enough!” and to address the problem. Our social environment must be improved. Our media should play a more active role. Our education must strengthen the correct guidance of students and citizens. Our police force and legal system must be more effective.
Many people don’t know when their words and actions are racially discriminatory and wrong; they don’t know that making mistakes comes at a price. At the same time, many people don’t know who to turn to for help, how to speak up, and how to defend their rights when encountering racial discrimination and attacks.
The epidemic has broken out globally, and much public opinion has pointed the finger at China. But this is definitely not a reason for attacking the Chinese, whether online or offline, whether verbal abuse or behavioural attacks, whether in the UK or anywhere else in the world. This is not a reason for allowing the rampant use of any kind of racism.
Regardless of the cause or form of racial discrimination, we should fight against it to the end. Wherever you come from, whatever race you belong to, you have every right not to be illegally violated by anyone, and you must also follow the obligation not to infringe upon others. Anti-racism should be employed to guard the stability of the legal system and peace of our social environment. Anti-racism should protect everyone!
Lights off.
End.
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