Limits of Multicultural Imagination and the Anti-Refugee Controversy in Contemporary China
On the World Refugee Day in 2017, Yao Chen, a Chinese actress, philanthropist, and social media influencer, posted messages in her Weibo in support of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Yet, social media users quickly interpreted this supportive message of the refugee program as encouraging...
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doaj-9d4425c35e02437aa9302919e7209a422021-01-19T13:56:58ZengWorld Association for Triple Helix and Future Strategy StudiesJournal of Contemporary Eastern Asia 2383-94492020-12-01192125147https://doi.org/10.17477/jcea.2020.19.2.125Limits of Multicultural Imagination and the Anti-Refugee Controversy in Contemporary ChinaJing Wang0Global Perspectives on Society postdoctoral fellow at NYU ShanghaiOn the World Refugee Day in 2017, Yao Chen, a Chinese actress, philanthropist, and social media influencer, posted messages in her Weibo in support of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Yet, social media users quickly interpreted this supportive message of the refugee program as encouraging people to "accept and receive refugees" (jieshou nanmin) into China. Particularly, the category of Middle Eastern refugees elicited most criticism in China's cyberspace. As the inclusion of refugees is an integral part of immigrant multiculturalism, this article examines the limits of multicultural imagination of refugees―particularly those from the Middle Eastern and North Africa―in contemporary China. I argue that the limits of multicultural imagination in contemporary China is profoundly shaped by an intricate interweaving of domestic policies and global imaginaries toward refugees. By deploying a mixed methodology, such limits are examined from legal-institutional, ideological, and sociocultural perspectives. More specifically, three interrelated aspects will be highlighted in the article: (1) the global circulation of right-wing populism imaginaries, and their entanglements with the anti-Muslim sentiments in contemporary China; (2) the current insufficiency of the legal-institutional framework regarding refugees and asylum-seekers, which needs to be contextualized in China's modern history of dealing with refugee issues; (3) population politics, the rise of Han-centric nationalism, and their constraining impact on the interpretation of historical events related to cultural diversity. In conclusion, this article also offers potential implications for further examining the different yet potentially intersected genealogies of multicultural imaginaries beyond the Middle Eastern and North African refugees in Asia.http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202036457035945.pagemulticulturalismislamophobiarefugee policiespopulation politicshan-centric nationalism |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Jing Wang |
spellingShingle |
Jing Wang Limits of Multicultural Imagination and the Anti-Refugee Controversy in Contemporary China Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia multiculturalism islamophobia refugee policies population politics han-centric nationalism |
author_facet |
Jing Wang |
author_sort |
Jing Wang |
title |
Limits of Multicultural Imagination and the Anti-Refugee Controversy in Contemporary China |
title_short |
Limits of Multicultural Imagination and the Anti-Refugee Controversy in Contemporary China |
title_full |
Limits of Multicultural Imagination and the Anti-Refugee Controversy in Contemporary China |
title_fullStr |
Limits of Multicultural Imagination and the Anti-Refugee Controversy in Contemporary China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Limits of Multicultural Imagination and the Anti-Refugee Controversy in Contemporary China |
title_sort |
limits of multicultural imagination and the anti-refugee controversy in contemporary china |
publisher |
World Association for Triple Helix and Future Strategy Studies |
series |
Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia |
issn |
2383-9449 |
publishDate |
2020-12-01 |
description |
On the World Refugee Day in 2017, Yao Chen, a Chinese actress, philanthropist, and social media influencer, posted messages in her Weibo in support of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Yet, social media users quickly interpreted this supportive message of the refugee program as encouraging people to "accept and receive refugees" (jieshou nanmin) into China. Particularly, the category of Middle Eastern refugees elicited most criticism in China's cyberspace. As the inclusion of refugees is an integral part of immigrant multiculturalism, this article examines the limits of multicultural imagination of refugees―particularly those from the Middle Eastern and North Africa―in contemporary China. I argue that the limits of multicultural imagination in contemporary China is profoundly shaped by an intricate interweaving of domestic policies and global imaginaries toward refugees. By deploying a mixed methodology, such limits are examined from legal-institutional, ideological, and sociocultural perspectives. More specifically, three interrelated aspects will be highlighted in the article: (1) the global circulation of right-wing populism imaginaries, and their entanglements with the anti-Muslim sentiments in contemporary China; (2) the current insufficiency of the legal-institutional framework regarding refugees and asylum-seekers, which needs to be contextualized in China's modern history of dealing with refugee issues; (3) population politics, the rise of Han-centric nationalism, and their constraining impact on the interpretation of historical events related to cultural diversity. In conclusion, this article also offers potential implications for further examining the different yet potentially intersected genealogies of multicultural imaginaries beyond the Middle Eastern and North African refugees in Asia. |
topic |
multiculturalism islamophobia refugee policies population politics han-centric nationalism |
url |
http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202036457035945.page |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT jingwang limitsofmulticulturalimaginationandtheantirefugeecontroversyincontemporarychina |
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1724331848513880064 |