Diasporic Futures: Sinophobia, Techno-Political Strife, and the Politics of Care

Diasporic Futures: Sinophobia, Techno-Political Strife, and the Politics of Care

30th Anniversary Conference of the founding of the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO)

世界海外华人研究学会

November 11-12, 2022
Kabuki Hotel, San Francisco, CA

We emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic forever changed. The dramatic rise of anti- Chinese animus globally has shaken many diasporic communities to the core. The politicization of “the Chinese virus” has reignited Sinophobia and anti-Chinese racism, causing rampant and random cyber-bullying, verbal assault, and physical violence against Chinese and Chinese-looking people in the U.S. and in many countries throughout the world in magnitude and frequency not seen since the height of the Chinese exclusion period in the 19th century. This, in turn, has heightened social awareness among diasporic Chinese and revitalized political and cultural engagement on an unprecedented scale that crosses generations and national, linguistic, and class boundaries.

At the same time, the competition for economic and technological hegemony between a declining US and a rising China has reached new levels of intensity and, indeed, hostility that is forcing a planetary geopolitical realignment of nation-states that is reminiscent of the Cold War period, leading some political scientists to wonder if China and the U.S. have already reached the inevitable “Thucydides Trap.” This geopolitical Struggle between the US and China has had dire consequences on ethnic Chinese in the U.S. and across the globe. In an era when China once again is perceived as more threat than opportunity, ethnic Chinese—especially scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs—have come under sweeping government surveillance and overzealous prosecution, undermining global collaboration legitimate international academic exchange and collaboration, and faith in democracy, racial equality, and the very system of justice. 

Indeed, since the founding ISSCO conference in November 1992, we have witnessed many sweeping changes that have transformed the conditions of Chinese living in diaspora, including China’s rapid and formidable entry into global economics, the shifting perception of China from being a potential market for the West to an enemy of the West, and the increased emigration from China to different regions of the world, especially Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Oceania. All of this have unfolded within an emergent digital-technological world order that has dramatically transformed our habits of sociality and knowledge production. Indeed, the explosion of globalized media and digital platforms has expanded the possibilities for global communication, transnational meaning-making, and the proliferation of publics. All provide ample encouragement for diasporic cultural creativity and translocal social-political engagement, even as it makes possible the danger of misinformation and ideological manipulation.

Under these circumstances, how are diasporic Chinese experiencing and responding to the global pandemic and the international tensions? How are they imaging their possible futures under these changed conditions? What can we learn from previous moments of international engagement and Sinophobia in order to address the widespread uptick of anti-Chinese/anti-Asian hate and systemic racism, more broadly? What established forms and strategies of mutual aid can we modify, adapt, and forward in this current context? What kinds of trans-racial, trans-gender, trans-generational, and transnational collaborations, dialogues, and solidarities must we advance to create a future that is not just sustainable but full of possibilities? What kinds of histories, narratives, and imaginaries must we put forward to build our capacity for resilience, compassion, and care so that we can thrive collectively? 

Official Languages of the Conference: English, Chinese, and Spanish

Sponsored by:  Asian American Research Center and Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Program (AAADS), University of California, Berkeley; Jinan University, Guangdong, China; and Asia Pacific Center, UC Los Angeles

Co-sponsored by: Institute of East Asian Studies and Center for Chinese Studies, UC Berkeley

The conference was made possible thanks to generous support from:

Lawrence Choy Lowe Memorial Fund

Ricky Ho and Emily Leung

Program

The schedule for the in-person San Francisco concurrent sessions is available here.

The schedule for the hybrid Jinan University sessions is available here (these sessions are on China Standard Time)

The schedule for the virtual UCLA sessions is available here. (these sessions are on Pacific Time)

See below for details and videos of the five plenary sessions.

The bios of the plenary session speakers are available here.

ISSCO Keynote by Mae Ngai and Welcome

Introduction: Lok SIU, Professor of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley, and Chair of the Asian American Research Center

Welcome:

Raka RAY, Professor of Sociology and Dean of Social Sciences, UC Berkeley

LIN Rupeng, Professor and Chairman of Jinan University Council, Guangzhou, China

LI Minghuan, Distinguished Professor, Academy of Overseas Chinese, Jinan University, and ISSCO President

WANG Gungwu, University Professor at the National University of Singapore; Emeritus Professor, Australian National University; and ISSCO Founding President

Ling-chi WANG, Professor Emeritus, Ethnic Studies Department, University of California, Berkeley, and ISSCO Founding Secretary

Keynote: Mae M. NGAI, Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies and Professor of History, Columbia University, and author of The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics

"Racial Profiling and Discrimination against Chinese American Scientists and Engineers"

Speakers:
Sherry CHEN, Hydrologist, National Weather Service
Xiaoxing XI, Laura H. Carnell Professor of Physics, Temple University
Gang CHEN, Carl Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering, MIT
Jeremy S. WU, Founder of APA Justice, Washington, D.C., formerly with U.S. Census Bureau and the Departments of Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture

Moderator: The Honorable Lillian K. SING, Retired Judge, San Francisco Superior Court

“The Pandemic and Anti-Asian Violence in the U.S.”

Welcome:
Lok SIU, Chair of the Asian American Research Center and Professor of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley

Speakers:
Russell JEUNG, Professor of Asian American Studies, San Francisco State University
John WALSH, Professor Emeritus, School of Medicine, University of Massachusetts
Cynthia CHOI, Co-Executive Director, Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), San Francisco

Moderator: Henry DER, Volunteer Coordinator, CAA Oral History Project

ISSCO Founders Roundtable

Moderator: Madeline HSU, Professor of History, University of Texas, Austin

Slideshow by: Wei LI, Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies and Geography, Arizona State University

Speakers:
L. Ling-chi WANG, Professor Emeritus of Ethnic Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Karen HARRIS, Professor of Historical & Heritage Studies, University of South Africa, Pretoria

Emmanuel MA MUNG, Emeritus Director of Research, French National Center for Scientific Research

Teresita ANG SEE, President, Philippine Association for Chinese Studies

“Changing US-China Relations and Their Impact on Chinese in the U.S. and Elsewhere”

Speakers:
- The Honorable Julie TANG, Retired Judge, San Francisco Superior Court
- Gordon CHANG, Senior Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities, Stanford University
- K.J. NOH, activist and scholar on the geopolitics of the Asian continent who writes for Counterpunch and Dissident Voice; special correspondent for KPFA Radio on the “Pivot to Asia,” the Koreas, and the Pacific
- George KOO, founder and former managing director of International Strategic Alliances; Commentator for Asia Times

Moderator: Don TOW, President - NJ-ALPHA (New Jersey Alliance for Learning and Preserving the History of WWII in Asia)

Concluding remarks: Lok SIU, Chair of the Asian American Research Center and Professor of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley

Logo of Asian American Research Center in Cal Blue and Gold color scheme.
Conference photos are available here
Image credit: 
Joyce Xi

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