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Don't ban pro-China propaganda but allow anti-Asian hate to fester

Don't ban pro-China propaganda but allow anti-Asian hate to fester
3D printed Twitter logo is seen in front of a displayed cyber code in this illustration taken March 2016.
PHOTO: Reuters

It is well and good that Twitter recently suspended hundreds of suspected state-sponsored accounts used to spread pro-China propaganda during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

They reportedly depicted a rosy vision of the Games that glossed over controversies involving alleged human rights abuses in China.

But what about taking action when groups and individuals incite hatred by putting out information already proven to be outright fabrications? Such as one that had suggested the torture of ethnic Uygurs by Chinese police.

Last Thursday (Feb 24), Seyit Tümtürk, president and chair of the rights organisation East Turkestan National Assembly posted a video of a blindfolded and handcuffed man with legs spread and tied to a spit that was turning back and forth.

The accompanying comment said: “Neither doner chicken nor lamb roast. One of our innocent East Turkestan brothers who were subjected to the famous Chinese torture of five million Uygurs are in torture camps in China.”

The video was discredited as far back as February 2019 by the Taiwan FactCheck Centre which confirmed the footage was a BDSM-style cosplay by a group of Taiwanese.

Those involved in the cosplay, including the actor himself, had been interviewed and even provided photographs of the entire production.

But three years later, the video once again surfaced, garnering responses ranging from condemnations against the Chinese government and calls in the comments to “kill all Chinese”. The post is still available and has been shared 3,000 times.

While there are ongoing allegations of Chinese genocide and torture against mainly ethnic Uygurs in Xinjiang, the best way to call attention to them is by obtaining truthful information and credible accounts, not through falsehoods and fake news.

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Social media giants, including Twitter, have policies that ban hateful behaviour and harassment on their platforms. For example, users can now block or mute tweets. But hate is still circulating online and this is a growing problem for Asians, including those in the United States .

Research shows that along with rising hate against Asians online, there has been a corresponding spike in real-life hate crimes against them in the US. Data published by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found that anti-Asian hate crime increased by 339 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020. New York City saw a sharp spike, from 30 to 133 anti-Asian hate crimes.

Two particularly shocking incidents come to mind – an Asian woman was recently stabbed to death inside her flat while another was pushed under the wheels of a Times Square subway train in New York.

While China may be criticised for rights issues, victimising and inciting hatred against all Chinese, Asians or any ethnic group for that matter will do little in ensuring the safety of these individuals. Nor will it further the case of the ethnic Uygurs.

This article was first published in South China Morning Post.

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