Racism in Asia

Bangladesh / Pakistan

Main article: 1971 Bangladesh atrocities

See also: Martial Race

A strong anti-Bengali Pakistani regime during the Bangladesh Liberation War were strongly motivated by anti-Bengali racism, especially against the Bengali Hindu minority. It should be pointed out, however, that two ethnic Bengalis: Muhammad Ali Bogra, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy held the highest office of Prime Minister of Pakistan. Historian Christoffe Jaffrelot argues in his landmark work "Pakistan. Nationalism without a Nation" that contemporary Pakistan is essentially little more than a Punjabi racial ethnocracy.He refers to the phenomenon as the "Punjabization of Pakistan" He observes systemic ethnic and cultural irredentism in Pakistan that intentionally minimizes and disparages non-Punjabis. Other ethnic and sectarian strife in Pakistan that have roots in perceptions of race are the Muhajir Urdu movement, and Pashtun nationalism.

Bhutan

In 1991-92, Bhutan deported roughly 100,000 ethnic Nepalis (Lhotshampa), most of who had illegal immigrated to Bhutan through its porous border with India, in order to take advantage of better economic conditions in Bhutan. Although the Nepali migrants ethnically Indo-Aryans and mainly Hindu, race and religion was not factor in the deportation. Rather it was the overt attempt by illegal immigrants to cause chaos in their host country. In March 2008, this population began a multiyear resettlement to third countries including the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia. At present, the United States is working towards resettling more than 60,000 of these refugees in the US as third country settlement programme.

Brunei

Brunei, is a monarchy and a very conservative Islamic country. The majority of Malay Bruneians view themselves as being superior to the expatriate workforce. Racism is widespread in Brunei (although it's usually a less sensitive issue in the country), especially towards people of Indian origin who are referred to as 'Kalings' (a variation of Keling in nearby Malaysia and Singapore). People of other ethnicities are also subject to a range of discriminatory laws that give preference to ethnic Malays with regard to health, education and business ownership. People who are permanent residents of Brunei (referred to as 'pink ic holders') are officially regarded as stateless and are not recognised by the government. This could be considered a form of racism as these residents are more likely to be of Chinese ethnicity and face a multitude of problems when they attempt to enter a foreign country.

Burma

Ne Win's rise to power in 1962 and his relentless persecution of "resident aliens" (immigrant groups not recognised as citizens of the Union of Burma) led to an exodus of some 300,000 Burmese Indians from racial discrimination and particularly after wholesale nationalisation of private enterprise a few years later in 1964.

In 1978, a military operation was conducted against the Rohingya Muslims in Arakan, called the King Dragon operation, causing 300,000 refugees to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. In 1991, following a crackdown on Rohingyas, 250,000 refugees took shelter in the Cox's Bazar district of neighbouring Bangladesh. Despite earlier efforts by the UN, the vast majority of Rohingya refugees have remained in Bangladesh, unable to return because of the regime in Burma. They now face problems in Bangladesh where they do not receive support from the government.

Muslims are stereotyped in the society as "cattle killers" (referring to the cattle sacrifice festival of Eid Al Adha in Islam). The generic racist slur of "Kala" (black) used against perceived "foreigners" has especially negative connotations when referring to Burmese Muslims.

Cambodia

The Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. These included ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai. In the late 1960s, an estimated 425,000 ethnic Chinese lived in Cambodia, but by 1984, as a result of Khmer Rouge genocide and emigration, only about 61,400 Chinese remained in the country. The Cham, a Muslim minority who are the descendants of migrants from the old state of Champa, were forced to adopt the Khmer language and customs. A Khmer Rouge order stated that henceforth “The Cham nation no longer exists on Kampuchean soil belonging to the Khmers” (U.N. Doc. A.34/569 at 9). Only about half of the Cham survived.

China

Main article: Racism in the People's Republic of China

For decades African students in China have been treated with hostility and prejudice. Their complaints regarding their treatment were largely ignored until 1988-9, when "students rose up in protest against what they called 'Chinese apartheid'". African officials, who had until then ignored the problem, took notice of the issue. The Organization of African Unity issued an official protest, and the organization's chairman, Mali's president Moussa Traoré, went on a fact-finding mission to China. The issue was so severe that, according to a Guardian 1989 Third World Report titled "'Chinese apartheid' threatens links with Africa", "'Chinese apartheid', as the African students call it, could threaten Beijing's entire relationship with the continent."

Ethnic minorities, especially Uyghurs, Tibetans and Mongolians, are among the targets of China's security crackdown in the lead-up to the Olympics, along with thousands of migrant workers, petitioners, social activists and Africans who are seen as potential troublemakers or protesters. Bar owners in central Beijing say they have been forced “not to serve black people or Mongolians” during the Olympics.

Further information: [[:Anti-Japanese sentiment in China]]

Anti-Japanese sentiment in China is an issue with old roots. Japan started off like other Western powers by annexing land from China towards the end of the Qing Dynasty. Dissatisfaction with the settlement and the Twenty-One Demands by the Japanese government led to a severe boycott of Japanese products in China. Bitterness in China persists over the atrocities of the Second Sino-Japanese War, such as the Nanjing Massacre and Japan's post-war actions. Today, textbook revisionism and censorship remain contentious issues.

Hong Kong

File:Hk anti-discrimination poster.jpg

An anti-discrimination poster in a Hong Kong subway station. Circa. 2005

In a population of almost 7 million [2] Hong Kong has gained a reputation as international city, while remaining predominantly Chinese. This multi-culturalism has raised issues of racial and sex discrimination, particularly among the 350,000 ethnic minorities such as Nepalese, Indians, Indonesians, Pakistanis and Filipinos, who have long established minority communities since the founding days of the former colony or have come to Hong Kong recently to work as domestic workers. For example, Filipino females are often addressed by the degratory term "Pan Moi" and male Filipino "Pan Ji" (literally, Filipino girl and Filipino boy, respectively). There are also around 380,000 migrants from mainland China who have also suffered discrimination [3], as evidenced by cases of high unemployment rates, poor working conditions, psychological and physical violence, lack of minimum wage. In 2003, the number of complaints filed with the body handling discrimination issues, the Equal Opportunities Commission [4] was up by 31 percent.

A race discrimination bill has been demanded by human rights groups for the last 10 years, and the government has been accused of putting the issue on the back burner.

Last December 3, 2006 was the first time a drafted bill was released onto the Legislative Council, and is expected to be passed before the end of 2008. However, the bill is criticized to be "too conservative" [5]. The exclusion of mainland Chinese migrants has also been a source of controversy, with the government claiming that they are not considered to be of a different race. Another issue of the bill has been of language instruction in schools. Low-income ethnic minority parents who cannot afford to send their children to English-instruction schools have to send them to Chinese-instruction schools, where they fall behind in classes or make little progress.

India

See also: Dalit, British Raj, Indo-Aryan migration, Aryanism during the British Raj, and Indian Caste System

The earliest rejection of discrimination spiritually, was made as far back as the Hindu sacred text of Bhagavada Gita, which says that no person, no matter what, is barred from enlightenment. Even early Hindu texts such as the Rig Veda discourage the abuse of outcastes. The text reads, "Indra, you lifted up the outcast who was oppressed, you glorified the blind and the lame." (Rg-Veda 2:13:12). The caste system was equivalent to division of labour and a Shudra's son (the lowest caste) could become a Brahmin. But later this system became hereditary and a Shudra's son would remain a Shudra. During the British Raj, racist views against Indians based on the systemic scientific racism practiced in Europe at the time were popularized. Views include dividing linguistic groups into ethnic "classes" (see Historical definitions of races in India),[6].The first Prime minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote

"we in India have known racialism in all its forms ever since the commencement of British rule. The idea of a master race is inherent in imperialism ... India as a nation and Indians as individuals were subjected to insult, humiliation and contemptuous treatment. The English were an imperial race, we were told, with the God-given right to govern us and keep us in subjection; if we protested we were reminded of the 'tiger qualities of an imperial race'.

"

It is claimed by some activists [7] that casteism practised in India is a form of racism, but this is debated by those who believe that casteism has nothing to do with physical attributes, unlike racism. At the UN world conference on racism (August 31 - September 7, 2001) the Indian Government opposed the discussion of caste in the conference, saying that "the caste issue is not the same as racism" [8].

Allegations that caste amounts to race were addressed and rejected by B.R. Ambedkar, an advocate for Dalit rights and critic of untouchability. He wrote that "The Brahmin of Punjab is racially of the same stock as the Chamar (Dalit) of Punjab, and that the "Caste system does not demarcate racial division. Caste system is a social division of people of the same race",

Such allegations have also been rejected by many sociologists such as Andre Béteille, who writes that treating caste as a form of racism is "politically mischievous" and worse, "scientifically nonsense" since there is no discernible difference in the racial characteristics between Brahmins and Scheduled Castes. He writes that "Every social group cannot be regarded as a race simply because we want to protect it against prejudice and discrimination". In addition, the view of the caste system as "static and unchanging" (which would indicate a form of racial discrimination) has been disputed by many scholars. Sociologists describe how the perception of the caste system as a static and textual stratification has given way to the perception of the caste system as a more processual, empirical and contextual stratification. Others have applied theoretical models to explain mobility and flexibility in the caste system in India.. According to these scholars, groups of lower-caste individuals could seek to elevate the status of their caste by attempting to emulate the practices of higher castes.

Sociologist M. N. Srinivas has also debated the question of rigidity in Caste. For details see sanskritization.

Pakistani-American sociologist Ayesha Jalal also rejects these allegations. In her book, "Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia", she writes that "As for Hinduism, the hierarchical principles of the Brahmanical social order have always been contested from within Hindu society, suggesting that equality has been and continues to be both valued and practiced."

Historically, many Hindu reform movements have actively combated casteism and the practice of untouchability (segregation of the lower castes). In order to curb the practice of caste-based discrimination, numerous laws, including constitutional laws, have been passed in India outlawing casteist discrimination.Special quotas are provided to the lower castes in access to schools and jobs. Lower caste political parties have achieved increasing prominence in the Indian political landscape since India's independence. The public practice of casteism has diminished significantly among the large urban and cosmopolitan classes in India. Nonetheless, the fight to end casteism is an uphill struggle, especially in rural areas where education and modernity are scarce, and numerous hate crimes have taken place in India that have been attributed to Casteism.

India's treatment of its lower-class Dalits has been described by UNESCO as "India's hidden apartheid". According to Rajeev Dhavan, of India's leading English-language newspaper The Hindu, "casteism is India's apartheid which will continue in its most vicious and persistent forms for decades to come." In the Indian caste system, a Dalit, often called an untouchable, is a person who lay outside the Indian Caste System. Historically, Hindu Dalits were forbidden to worship in temples and Muslim Dalits forbidden in mosques [9]. Dalits who converted to Christianity are frequently discriminated against by upper-caste Catholic priests and nuns.[10] The majority of rural Dalits still live in segregation and experience atrocities to the scale of 110,000 registered cases a year according to 2005 statistics.

However, such allegations of apartheid are regarded by academic sociologists as a political epithet, since apartheid implies state sponsored discrimination, and no such thing exists in India. Anti-dalit prejudice and discrimination is a social malaise that exists primarily in rural areas, where small societies can track the caste lineage of individuals and discriminate accordingly. Sociologists Kevin Reilly, Stephen Kaufman, Angela Bodino, while being critical of casteism, conclude that modern India does not practice any "apartheid" since there is no state sanctioned discrimination. They write that Casteism in India is presently "not apartheid. In fact, untouchables, as well as tribal people and members of the lowest castes in India benefit from broad affirmative action programmes and are enjoying greater political power."

Indonesia

See also Jakarta Riots of May 1998 and Anti-Chinese legislation in Indonesia.

A number of discriminatory laws against Chinese Indonesians were enacted by the government of Indonesia. In 1959, President Soekarno approved PP 10/1959 that forced Chinese Indonesians to close their businesses in rural areas and relocate into urban areas. Moreover, political pressures in the 1970s and 1980s restricted the role of the Chinese Indonesian in politics, academics, and the military. As a result, they were thereafter constrained professionally to becoming entrepreneurs and professional managers in trade, manufacturing, and banking. In the 1960s, following the failed alleged Communist coup attempt in 1965, there was a strong sentiment against the Chinese Indonesians who were accused of being Communist collaborators. In 1998, Indonesia riots over higher food prices and rumors of hoarding by merchants and shopkeepers often degenerated into anti-Chinese attacks.

Amnesty International has estimated more than 100,000 Papuans, one-sixth of the population, have died as a result of government-sponsored violence against West Papuans, while others had previously specified much higher death tolls. The 1990s saw Indonesia accelerate its Transmigration program, under which hundreds of thousands of Javanese and Sumatran migrants were resettled to Papua over a ten-year period. Prior to Indonesian rule, the Asian population was estimated at 16,600. Critics suspect that the Transmigration program's purpose is to tip the balance of the province's population from the heavily Melanesian Papuans toward western Indonesians, thus further consolidating Indonesian control.

Korea

Koreans tend to equate nationality or citizenship with membership in a single, homogeneous ethnic group or "race" (minjok, in Korean). A common language and culture also are viewed as important elements in Korean identity. The idea of multiracial or multiethnic nations, like Canada or the United States, strikes some Koreans as odd or even contradictory. Both North Korea and South Korea are among the world's most ethnically homogeneous nations. South Korean schools have been criticised for hiring only white teachers who apply to teach English, because Koreans regard fair skin color as representative of "American" or "English"-ness. Other than that, there is widespread prevailing discrimination in Korea. People generally believe in a state of "pure blood" . However, despite this, South Korea is fast becoming a multicultural and multiracial country with the foreign population approaching 2% of the national population. The South Korean government is also implementing initiatives to raise awareness and reduce discrimination. See also: Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea

Japan

Further information: [[:Ethnic issues in Japan]]

Japanese society, with its ideology of homogeneity, has traditionally been intolerant of ethnic and other differences. It is safe to say that there has been a strong sense of xenophobia since it has opened borders to foreigners. For example, the Dutch sailors landed on the Japanese shore were characterized by their "butter-like" body odor, hairiness, and unsophisticated behavior. Those who were identified as different might be considered "polluted" —- the category applied historically to the outcasts of Japan, particularly the hisabetsu buraku, "discriminated communities," often called burakumin, a term some find offensive —- and thus not suitable as marriage partners or employees. Men or women of mixed ancestry, those with family histories of certain diseases, and foreigners, and members of minority groups faced discrimination in a variety of forms. In 2005, a United Nations report expressed concerns about racism in Japan and that government recognition of the depth of the problem was not total. The author of the report, Doudou Diène (Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights), concluded after a nine-day investigation that racial discrimination and xenophobia in Japan primarily affects three groups: national minorities, Latin Americans of Japanese descent, mainly Japanese Brazilians, and foreigners from "poor" countries.

Japan accepted just 16 refugees in 1999, while the United States took in 85,010 for resettlement, according to the UNHCR. New Zealand, which is 30 times smaller than Japan, accepted 1,140 refugees in 1999. Just 305 persons were recognized as refugees by Japan from 1981, when Japan ratified the U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, to 2002. Japanese Minister Taro Aso has called Japan a "one race" nation.

During World War II, Anti-American and Anti-Sino sentiments were in Japan, often saying America was an evil country and China too. These Sinophobic sentiments helped to materialize the Imperial soldiers' atrocities in massive scale against the Chinese during World War II, culminating in the Nanking Massacre and the Three Alls Policy ("Kill All", "Burn All" and "Loot All"). The Second Sino-Japanese War claimed the lives of at least 20 million Chinese. Though Anti-American sentiments are now very low due to the fact the relations got better, Anti-Sino sentiments still go on in Japan.

Recently, as of 2008, in Japan most anti-American sentiment is believed to have been focused upon the presence and behavior of American military personnel, aggravated especially by high-profile crimes committed by U.S. servicemembers, such as the 1995 Okinawan rape incident. President of the Okinawa chapter of the NAACP, said the sentence was "excessive compared to verdicts that would be given to Okinawan nationals." "I'm not sure whether it's because they are American or African-American."

Ainu people are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō, northern Honshū, the Kuril Islands, much of Sakhalin, and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula. As Japanese settlement expanded, the Ainu were pushed northward, until by the Meiji period they were confined by the government to a small area in Hokkaidō, in a manner similar to the placing of American Indians on reservations.

Malaysia

Malaysia is multi–ethnic country, with Malays making up the majority—close to 52% of the population. About 30% of the population are Chinese Malaysians — Malaysians of Chinese descent) — and Indian Malaysians—Malaysians of Indian descent — comprise about 8% of the population.

Economic policies designed to favour Bumiputras (ethnic Malays), including affirmative action in public education, were implemented in the 1970s in order to defuse inter-ethnic tensions following the May 13 Incident in 1969. However, these policies have not been fully effective in eradicating poverty among rural Bumiputras and have further caused a backlash especially from Chinese and Indian minorities. The policies are enshrined in the Malaysian constitution and questioning them is technically illegal.

90% of Petronas directors are ethnic Malays, only 3% of Petronas employees are Chinese, only 5% of all new intakes for government army, nurses, polices, are non-Malays, just 7% of government servants in the whole government are ethnic Chinese (2004), drop from 30% in 1960, and 95% of all government contracts are given to Malays.

Both major ethnic groups have their own control and power. UMNO, the ruling political party since Malaysia's independence from Britain, depends on the majority Malay population for votes by using laws that give Malays priority over other races in areas such as employment. UMNO also promotes ketuanan Melayu, which is the idea that the ethnic Malays should get special privileges in Malaysia.

The Malay-controlled government ensures that all Bumiputeras of Malay origin are given preferential treatment when it comes to the number of student places in Government universities, they are also given 7% discounts for new houses purchased by them, special Malay reserve land in most housing settlements, burial plots in most urban areas for the deceased Bumiputeras while the rest have to be cremated at such locations or pay premium prices, that all key government positions to be held by Malays including most sporting associations, a minimum of a 30% Malay Bumiputera equity to be held in Listed Companies, full funding for mosques and Islamic places of worship, special high earning interest trust funds for Bumiputera Malays, special share allocation for new share applications for Bumiputera Malays, making the Malay language paper a compulsory paper to pass with such high emphasis given to it. However, recently the government have decided to made 45 percent of overseas scholarship to non-Malays.

Russia

Further information: [[:Racism in modern Russia, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union]]

The term "pogrom" became commonly used in English after a large-scale wave of anti-Jewish riots swept through south-western Czarist Russia in 1881–1884. A much bloodier wave of pogroms broke out in 1903–1906, leaving an estimated 2,000 Jews dead. By the beginning of the 20th century, most European Jews lived in the so-called Pale of Settlement, the Western frontier of the Russian Empire consisting generally of the modern-day countries of Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and neighboring regions. Many pogroms accompanied the Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing Russian Civil War, an estimated 70,000 to 250,000 civilian Jews were killed in the atrocities throughout the former Russian Empire; the number of Jewish orphans exceeded 300,000.

Racism inside Russia is quite a modern post-USSR phenomenon that has been steadily growing in the past decade. In the 2000s, neo-Nazi groups inside Russia have risen to include as many as tens of thousands of people. [11] Racism against the peoples of the Caucasus, Africans, Central Asians and East Asians (Vietnamese, Chinese, etc.) is an ever-increasing problem. [12]

A Pew Global opinion poll showed that 25% of Russians had an unfavorable view of Jews. [13] Racism towards central Asians is said to be widespread.

Taiwan

The Nationality Law of the Republic of China has been criticized for its methods of determining which immigrants get citizenship.

Vietnam

The Sino-Vietnamese War resulted in the discrimination and consequent migration of Vietnam's ethnic Chinese. Many of these people fled as "boat people". In 1978-79, some 450,000 ethnic Chinese left Vietnam by boat as refugees (many officially encouraged and assisted) or were expelled across the land border with China.

See also

Racism by country