Skepticism of Bannon declaring an "economic war" with China

Fresh off steering strategy for a presidential campaign and White House which has damaged institutions and democratic norms in the United States, Steve Bannon flew to Hong Kong in the second week of September to deliver a speech to investors at an event hosted by a Citic subsidiary. He was greeted by protesters outside the venue decrying the toxic politics Bannon is famous for nurturing. 

In line with his nationalist rhetoric, Bannon declared an "economic war" between China and the U.S. during his speech. At ChinaFile, a number of experts discussed the merits of this sort of label for the relationship between the two countries. My small contribution to the conversation is copied below. The entire discussion can be read here.

I question the motives of the messenger. The discussion above, to the credit of its participants, has revolved so far around the merits of using “economic war” as a concept in the discourse of U.S.-China relations and the extents to which China is competing on a fair playing field. But we should be wary of Bannon, a regressive political figure and “alt-right” enabler who craves conflict within the U.S. and apparently war with China, of dishing up a conversation on the policy nuances toward China. Somewhat like the race-based theories of social organization to which his Breitbart faithful adhere, Bannon seems to selectively use bits and pieces of acknowledged fact to advertise a normative argument for deeper conflict, in this case with China.

Many people within the policy and political science community have engaged for years in discussion of the U.S. trade stance toward China and its bucking of international norms and standards. This conversation should continue, inclusive of those across the policy spectrum. But we ought to remain circumspect toward those who may not be engaging in good faith, who do not intend to maintain a just and peaceful world or resort to conflict as a last resort, those who undermine democracy with ethnocentric populism and envision a world divided along such lines. Bannon’s Hong Kong speech is an effort to stay relevant after leaving the chaos he helped mold in the White House.

Can I Raise Asian Kids in America?

This post was originally published on China Personified.

My wife, born in Taiwan, and I have talked about kids, including the possibility of adopting a child of Chinese descent. While reading Different Racisms: On Stereotypes, the Individual, and Asian American Masculinity by Matthew Salesses, I was regularly shocked into questioning my decision to raise a child with Asian background.

iPhone 6 Sale Reveals Ignorance and Indifference in Action -- Part 1 of 2

A couple of weeks ago, the iPhone 6 went on sale with incredibly long lines forming outside Apple stores. Around the world, many of the people in the lines were Chinese.

The iPhone 6 had not yet been permitted to go on sale in China, so a resale market was immediately created in which Chinese people (often older, low-wage immigrants) would line up 12 or more hours ahead of the opening, buy one or more iPhones, and then immediately give them to an intermediary outside of the store. The person in line would receive a fee of a couple hundred bucks for their service, and the intermediary would proceed to resell the phone in China for a 100-200% mark-up.

In New York, this process was recorded and published on YouTube by a self-professed "big tech nerd" who "slept on the streets to get the very first iPhone". The video (shown below) was originally titled the "Chinese Mafia Takes Over iPhone 6 Lines", demonstrating deep ignorance and/or prejudice by the filmmaker. After major news outlets rebuked the mafia claim, he changed the title of the video to "Black Market Takes Over iPhone 6 Lines". But it was too little too late. The seeds of hate had already been planted. Just take a look at the comments in the video to get a rough idea of the terrible prejudice that exists toward and within the East Asian community.

This film breaks my heart. Money-strapped immigrants, following the law and just trying pull in a couple extra hundred dollars, are harassed by police while sleeping on dirty sidewalks in garbage bags. This film really is an allegory for so many major influences in the U.S.: immigration, capitalism, inequality, and prejudice.

The Power of Stereotypes

I recently listened to a podcast of the radio show Radiolab, in which the "Obama effect" was discussed. Before Obama was elected or inaugurated, a 20-question performance test was administered on black and white students, and blacks scored significantly lower than whites. The exam was administered two more times -- after the election and inauguration, respectively -- and the performance gap disappeared.

Why? Stereotypes about black intelligence.

There is a growing body of research on the effect of stereotypes on test-taking -- called the "stereotype threat". Blacks, when given an exam that tests their intelligence, consistently score lower than whites. But when told that the exam they are taking is simply practice, blacks score on par with whites.

The key is distraction. If given a test that explicitly measures their intelligence, blacks will become distracted by the those things that others says about their intelligence. Even if a black person is absolutely positive that the black intelligence stereotype is, in fact, myth, then that person is likely to be distracted during the test by the thoughts of the stereotype in their head. If a test is time sensitive -- like most SAT or GRE exams are -- then a couple minutes of accumulated distraction can make a significant difference in scores. Now, replicate a stereotype threat across many years of schooling and many tests; a student is likely to suffer.

Of course, this is not limited to black stereotypes. The same results have been found with women on math tests -- it is "common knowledge" that women are not as proficient in math as men -- and whites on exams when compared to Asians. In all cases, the gap disappeared when the stereotype was put to rest.

This lends new evidence to restraining oneself from the use of stereotypes. If the fact that these hasty generalizations are false does not dissuade you, then maybe the knowledge that the proliferation of the stereotype significantly and negatively altering the lives of others will convince you. As long as a stereotype is strong enough in society to enter the minds of the target group during critical moments -- be it an exam or an interview for a job -- the affected people will continue to suffer, individually and as a group.

It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If enough people believe the rubbish we consider "common knowledge" about different groups of people, then that rubbish will find a way to, at least in part, be expressed at important moments.

So in using stereotypes, remember the power you wield. Ask yourself if you think the generalization is really true. Moreover, ask yourself if you want it to be true.