Too shameful to be reported?

Submitted by AWL on 8 December, 2021 - 9:41 Author: Jim Denham
Protesters in Chinatown

On Saturday 27 November, there was a rally in London’s Chinatown, supposedly against anti-Asian racism and, more specifically, anti-Chinese racism.

There is, indeed, strong evidence of an increase in racism against Chinese people and those of “Chinese” appearance in the UK. It’s been fuelled at least in part by the Covid-19 pandemic and Trump’s description of it as the “China virus”.

All socialists would, as a matter of course, support a genuine campaign against anti-Chinese racism, but there can be no doubt that this rally was, in reality, a propaganda front for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), seeking to brand all criticism of their fascistic state as “racist”. It may be that some well-meaning people from the Chinese community in the UK have been drawn in, but it looks like the driving forces behind this initiative (“Stop Anti-Asian Racism and NO to a New Cold War”) are active supporters of the CCP and its regime. Branding all criticism of the CCP — for instance over Hong Kong, Tibet or the Uyghurs — as racism is a cynical but effective ploy by the regime and its apologists.

Among the rally’s organisers, the Federation of UK Fujian Chinese and London China Town Association have published ads in newspapers to support the “patriots rule Hong Kong” principle whereby the CCP vets candidates to the Hong Kong legislature and bars those deemed insufficiently patriotic towards China.

A full-page article in the Morning Star of 22 November promoted the London rally with an article that included the following, which rather gives the game away:

“[The US] has created all kinds of appalling lies and fabrications on human rights issues. These unjustified falsehoods have resulted in a witch hunt against China, from unwarranted charges concerning Xinjiang to provocative subversion in Hong Kong, along with encouraging Taiwan’s independence in order to violently interfere in China’s internal affairs... Exposing the anxiety of the United States, worrying that its incompetence will be seen through by the world, and fearing China will achieve a great national rejuvenation.”

A group of Hong Kong emigrants turned up at the rally, and intervened with slogans such as “stop genocide in Xinjiang.” They made it clear they opposed anti-Chinese racism, but wanted to address racism and human rights abuses within China as well. Around 50 people, they were called “cockroaches” (a favourite CCP term) and physically attacked. The police intervened and at there was at least one arrest.

Strangely, after it had promoted the event so enthusiastically, and given that it turned out to be (shall we say) a lively event, the only further coverage or comment to appear in the paper was a letter (2 December) from one Phil Brand denouncing those who intervened as “separatists” and “Falun Gong members”, and thanking “all who attended, especially Fiona Edwards of No Cold War and Kate Hudson of CND who both spoke exceptionally and inspirationally well.”

The Morning Star carried no report of the rally and no editorial comment on what happened. Can it be that even this de facto mouthpiece of CCP propaganda found the reality of what happened in Chinatown on 27 November too embarrassing to say any more about?

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