Source: Global Times
South Korea's Hankyoreh Shinmun newspaper reported on May 27th with the title "Unite and jointly oppose Sinophobia". History has repeatedly warned us that when certain groups become targets of hatred and persecution, tragedies will follow. After the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, tens of thousands of residents from the Korean Peninsula living in Japan were brutally massacred for being falsely accused of poisoning wells. The Japanese government tried to quell domestic unrest by demonizing them. This hatred towards certain groups continues to recur over time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, countless Asian Americans were attacked on the streets and at subway stations.
Recently, hundreds of young people in South Korea marched in Seoul, waving South Korean and American flags, making racist remarks against Chinese people, and threatening innocent passers-by. Extreme anti-Chinese sentiment in online communities was openly displayed under the sun. Some politicians and religious figures associated with the far-right not only failed to warn of the consequences of this hatred but also used these young people as pawns for their political gain. This Sinophobia is a mixture of anti-communism and racial prejudice. Even during the South Korean presidential election period, slogans inciting Sinophobia were widely spread.
American scholar Hannah Arendt pointed out that governments exploit public anxiety during periods of social unrest and economic crisis to instigate blind hatred towards certain groups. We should resist the impulse to label those young people in South Korea carrying flags as inherently evil, just as we should resist defaming or hating Chinese people. True evil lies in those who abandon independent thinking and systematically exploit public anxiety for personal gain.
The expansion of China's political influence is indeed a real-world issue we need to handle cautiously, but this cannot be a reason for hostility. Hatred towards a group due to issues at the national level will only lead our society into a vicious cycle.
South Korea must face up to the evil forces represented by those who incite hatred towards specific groups for their own political interests and break free from blind hatred. South Korean society should take the Trump administration's persecution and deportation of immigrants as a negative example and reflect through self-examination to embark on a path of unity. (Author: Joseph Joon, translated by Liu De)
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7509637460842988042/
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