Examining Chinese International Students’ Experience of Racialization During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Through an Analysis of the Asian Critical Race Theory

• In Event: Examining the Experiences of International Students

Proposal

Problem Statement
Previously, literature is being published that discusses international students of color’s experience of discrimination and microaggressions in their social and academic settings (Kim & Kim, 2010; Lee, 2007; Lee & Rice, 2007; Yao, 2018; Yeo et al., 2019). Recently, Chinese international students have become increasingly vulnerable to racial microaggressions due to the shifting socio-political environment and the politicized COVID-19 pandemic (Wang et al., 2021; Koo et al., 2021). These incidents of racism, as well as xenophobic attacks toward Asians continues to rise throughout the country (Berger, 2020). Chinese international students’ experience of racialization is related to their race, their international student status, as well as political and transnational relations.
Objective of the Study
This paper explores Chinese international students’ experience of racialization in U.S. higher educational settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper adopts Asian Critical Race Theory (AsianCrit) (Chang, 1993; Museus & Iftikar, 2013) to contextualize how Chinese international students have been racialized in American society. By focusing on the two major tenets of AsianCrit, this study shows how various forms of racism and oppression toward Chinese international students emerge from phenotypic characteristics (e.g., a recognizable facial feature) categorized as Asian, politicized environments, and transnational influences. This study argues that Chinese international students are victims of anti-Asian racism in the U.S. due to 1) being visually perceived as Asian and 2) the U.S. political environment and the U.S. and China relations.
Theoretical Framework
Building on the core tenet of Critical Race Theory (CRT) (Solórzano, 1997), Asian Critical Race Theory (AsianCrit) centers the racialized experiences of Asian Americans over the course of U.S. history and their intersections with immigration and citizenship (Chang, 1993; Museus & Iftikar, 2013). According to Asian critical scholars, Asian Americans face unique challenges through nativism (“perpetual foreigners”) [Chang, 1993; Wu, 2002]. The AsianCrit term “Asianization'' explains that racialization as “Asian” is based on a stereotypical visual appearance and reduces Asians to a monolithic. Transnational tenet emphasizes the impact of racism in both historical and contemporary international contexts, in which white supremacy influences the lives of Asians beyond national boundaries (Museus, 2014; Museus & Iftikar, 2013).
Methodology
This study is guided by a qualitative research methodology adopting semi-structured interviews. The research site is a public research university in Southern California, and 15 Chinese international students participated in this study. This study uses qualitative content analysis as a method to analyze data collected from different resources, as well as connect theoretical orientations to the data analysis process (Mayring, 2004).
Findings and Discussions
Experience of Racial Microaggressions Result from Asianization
Unfortunately, many Chinese international students have experienced microaggressions, racism, and even physical assaults toward Asians and Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants in this study have either first-hand experience of racism or heard about racism targeting Asians from their friends and contacts. As an example, at the beginning of the outbreak of the pandemic in the U.S. in 2020, some participants have experienced unpleasant comments for wearing masks on campus. Another Chinese international graduate student was told to not physically come to the lab because of her nationality. Participants also felt that not only Chinese, but also other Asian groups (including Asian American and Asian international groups) are all victims of these racial incidents. For example, one participant mentioned that her friend, an international student from Japan, was harassed and physically assaulted off-campus, and told to take the virus “back to China” outside of campus. Chinese international students felt strongly connected to these situations, because they share commonalities through being Asian or holding a different immigration status in the U.S.
This study suggests that Asians and Asian Americans, despite their immigration status, are likely to be grouped into a primary image of being Chinese by the dominant society. This image mainly results from the shared stereotypical visual appearance of being Asian while ignoring the difference between cultures, identities, and ethnicities among different Asian groups.
Politicized: The Transnational Influence
The transnational tenet in AsianCrit reveals that global political, economic, and cultural systems overwhelmingly reflect a global white supremacy (Mills, 2003). The transnational influence is highlighted through America’s political environment as well as U.S. and China relations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, former President Donald Trump used the term “Chinese Virus,” stoking issues of fear, anxiety, and concerns for both Asian and Asian American. The U.S. government also created an unwelcoming political environment that incentive a bigoted rhetoric and exclusionary policies targeting Chinese international students. Information shows that since the era of the U.S. President Trump and increasingly tense U.S./China relations, Chinese students studying in the U.S. seem to be caught in the middle of an international game.
The participants in this study shared their experience of anxiety, helplessness, and uncertainty regarding international student visas and COVID restrictions during the pandemic. Some students have postponed their admissions because of the uncertainty of policies regarding international students during the pandemic. Other students indicated that they suffered daily stress by not knowing whether they could find jobs and remain in the country, due to visa restrictions and biases toward Chinese international students. These experiences shared by Chinese students highlights that many of them, especially those in the STEM fields, are worried and suffered from the policy restrictions and unwelcoming political environment in the U.S. Targeting international students from a certain national background and field of study contributes to the anti-Asian racism in the U.S.: Chinese international students are victims of anti-Asian racism.
Significance of the Study
When discussing race and racism, previous studies usually discuss domestic and international students separately and use different theoretical frameworks. Focusing on the similarity of being Asians, scholars indicate that the AsianCrit framework might be extended to facilitate analyses of Asian international students (Iftikar & Museus, 2018). This study represents innovative research to support using AsianCrit to study the racial experiences of Chinese international students. Its result will benefit both higher education administrators and policy makers by helping them to understand Chinese international students’ experience of racialization during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author

• Yi Zhou, University of California Riverside