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Antisemitism in the People's Republic of China is a mostly 21st century phenomenon and is complicated by the fact that there is little ground for antisemitism in China in historical sources.[1][2][3] In the 2020s, antisemitic conspiracy theories in China began to spread and intensify.[4][5][6] Some Chinese people believe in antisemitic tropes that Jews secretly rule the world.[7][8]
Public consciousness of Jews in China has a variety of historical influences.[8][9]: 98 Academic Eric Reinders of Emory University states that these include "Protestant missionaries, Jews as a model for Chinese immigrants, Japanese anti-Jewish articles circulated in China in the 1930s, the presence of European Jewish refugees in Shanghai, and the politics around Israel as a proxy of US imperialism."[9]: 98
Reinders writes that Chinese stereotypes of Jews are based in positive generalizations more than negative ones.[9]: 98–99 Jews are praised for valuing education like Chinese, although this is often also framed competitively.[9]: 99 Some mass market books associate Jews with wealth-building.[9]: 98–99 Some scholars write that philosemitic stereotypes in China can quickly turn antisemitic.[4][10][11] According to Tuvia Gering of the Atlantic Council, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have historically been a useful tool for the Chinese government against Western countries.[12]
Hongbing Song, a Chinese American IT consultant and amateur historian, published the Currency Wars series, believing Jewish financiers controlled the international banking systems since the era of Napoleon.[13] Song also says in his book that the key functions of the Federal Reserve have been ultimately controlled by five private banks, including Citibank, all of which have maintained "close ties" with the Rothschild family, one Jewish group that led to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The book became a bestseller and even has been read by some high ranking Chinese officials.[4][14][15]
According to the polls made by the Anti-Defamation League in 2014, roughly 20 percent of Chinese people have a negative attitude towards Jews, and the older people are, the more likely they are to have a negative perception of Jews.[7][16] Since 2015, descendants of the Kaifeng Jews have come under government pressure and suspicion.[17]
During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, state-owned newspaper Ta Kung Pao published antisemitic George Soros conspiracy theories, displaying Soros, a Jew, as a reptile in collusion with Jimmy Lai.[18]
The May 2021 events in Gaza precipitated Chinese state-run media invoking antisemitic tropes and sentiments, encouraged by top Chinese diplomats, and rehashed by well-known Chinese political commentators.[19] In particular, Israel's embassy in Beijing accused China Global Television Network (CGTN) of "blatant antisemitism" when it broadcast a program during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, in which host Zheng Junfeng claimed that Jews were in control of global finances and that "powerful lobbies" of Jews were responsible for the U.S. government's support for Israel.[20][21][22]
Political blogger Sima Nan's Weibo channel spread the notion that Jews colluded with the Empire of Japan to establish a Jewish homeland on Chinese territory during the Second Sino-Japanese War in what has been termed the Fugu Plan.[23] In September 2021, BYD appointed Lu Kewen, an online influencer known for spreading antisemitic tropes, as a spokesperson for the company.[19]
In 2023, articles that interpreted the Fugu Plan as an antisemitic conspiracy theory against China went viral on Chinese social media.[6][24] Following the discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, conspiracy theories spread in China that the Tokyo Electric Power Company was financed by Jewish people.[25]
Antisemitic reactions to the Israel–Hamas war were widespread on Chinese state media and social media.[26][27][28][29] Antisemitic comments were not removed from Chinese social media sites.[30][31][32] Sympathetic portrayals of Hamas have proliferated on Bilibili.[33] In a November 2023 interview with Voice of America, Israel's ambassador to China, Irit Ben-Abba, spoke about Sino-Israeli relations and antisemitism on the Chinese Internet, stating that "The antisemitic, anti-Israel discourse that we saw quite intensively in the last month has subsided", and arguing that China's relations with Israel have not changed.[34] China Central Television (CCTV) falsely claimed that "Jews represent just 3% of the American population but control 70% of its wealth."[32] In response to the 2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, former editor-in-chief of the Global Times Hu Xijin stated that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined."[35]
In January 2024, CNN reported that antisemitic content was proliferating on Chinese social media.[36] EU bureau chief of China Daily Chen Weihua responded that, according to CNN's logic, the United Nations and even the majority of the world's population were inciting anti-Semitism because they had all criticized Israel's actions in Gaza.[37]
Antisemitic tropes have also been spread online by the Ministry of Public Security's Spamouflage influence operation.[12] In October 2024, The Washington Post reported that Spamouflage targeted U.S. representative Barry Moore (R-AL) with accusations that he won his primary because of "the bloody Jewish consortium," as well as calling him a "Jewish dog", among other antisemitic tropes. Moore has been critical of the Chinese Communist Party, and has directed support for Taiwanese independence. Moore is not Jewish.[38]
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