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      • American Samoa
      • Armenia
      • Australia
      • Azerbaijan
      • Bahrain
      • Bangladesh
      • Bhutan
      • Brunei
      • Cambodia
      • Central Asia
      • China
      • Cook Islands

      • Cyprus
      • East Asia
      • East Timor
      • Fiji
      • French Polynesia
      • Georgia
      • Guam
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      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Israel
      • Japan
      • Jordan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Kiribati
      • Kuwait
      • Kyrgyzstan
      • Laos
      • Lebanon
      • Macau
      • Malaysia
      • Maldives
      • Marshall Islands
      • Micronesia
      • Mongolia
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      • Myanmar
      • Nauru
      • Nepal
      • New Caledonia
      • New Zealand
      • Niue
      • North Korea
      • Northern Marianas
      • Oceania
      • Oman
      • Pakistan
      • Palau
      • Palestine
      • Papua New Guinea
      • Philippines
      • Qatar
      • Samoa
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • Solomon Islands
    • Column Four
      • South Asia
      • Southeast Asia
      • South Korea
      • Sri Lanka
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Tajikistan
      • Thailand
      • Tibet
      • Tokelau
      • Tonga
      • Turkey
      • Turkmenistan
      • Tuvalu
      • United Arab Emirates
      • Uzbekistan
      • Vanuatu
      • Vietnam
      • Wallis and Futuna
      • West Asia
      • Yemen
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Asia In-Depth Podcast: The Coronavirus and Anti-Asian Racism

April 9th, 2020
Attacks against Asians have risen sharply around the world.

People pass by a mural depicting a Chinese face in via Paolo Sarpi, the commercial street of the Chinese district of Milan on January 30, 2020. 


Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images

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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.

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asia in-depth
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About the Author

Profile picture for user Matt Schiavenza

Matt Schiavenza is the Assistant Director of Content at Asia Society and Senior Editor of Asia Society Magazine. His work has appeared at The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, The New Republic, The Wire China, and strategy + business among other publications.

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