National Security Messaging Guidance
June 8, 2023Advancing Justice | AAJC provides framing guidelines for issues of national security
Racism and discrimination are a reality for members of the Asian American community. In the wake of COVID-19, the Asian American community has faced violent and harmful backlash, including numerous hate crimes and hate incidents. Research shows that Americans are most likely to name ‘China’ as the nation’s greatest enemy, which further contributes to anti-Asian sentiment.
Broad condemnation of China leads to people incorrectly conflating the actions of the Xi Jinping regime with the actions of Chinese Americans. While certain policies of Xi Jinping and the CCP do indeed pose a legitimate threat to U.S. national security, it is important to be mindful of how to frame criticism, and NOT conflate the actions of the Chinese government with the actions of Asian Americans.