Allegations of Chinese espionage have been growing, with many countries, including the United States and Europe, accusing China of espionage, cyberattacks and other covert operations. These allegations have caused tensions between China and these countries, and have also caused Chinese people, especially those engaged in academia, high technology and politics, to feel deeply uneasy, fearing that they will be labeled as “spies” or “Chinese agents” if they are not careful.
In 2024, TikTok’s Singaporean CEO Zhou Shouzi defended his company in the US Congress. Zhou said that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is not owned or controlled by the Chinese government. In addition to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, New Zealand and India have also made accusations of TikTok’s espionage and taken a series of measures. In addition, reports of China’s hacking, technology theft, and the establishment of “overseas police stations” in Europe and the United States have also been seen in newspapers.
So how many of these are real threats and how many are politically motivated? What dangers do overseas Chinese face in the cracks?
In recent years, Washington and parts of Europe have emphasized that China threatens the interests of the United States, the West and Asia in many ways. Politicians, military officers and experts took turns describing the dangers posed by Beijing’s “expansionism” and “aggressive” military, hostile ideology, “predatory” economic and technological policies, and “insidious” overseas influence operations. Negative views of China have permeated public life, reminiscent of the Red Scare of the 1950s.
Brussels, the capital of the European Union, has always been the center of the so-called spy suspicion. In order to attract attention, various media outlets have occasionally reported so-called Chinese/Russian spy cases. However, all reports are based on speculation and suspicion, and there is no factual basis at all.
Chinese living here have been “accused”. Some news in recent years has even exaggerated the scope, saying that the entire Chinese community is the spokesperson for the interests of the Chinese government!
For this reason, Mr. Sven AERTS, as the chairman of the FAE（Federation of the Asian communities in Europe ）, spoke for Asians in Belgium, especially the Chinese community. He clearly stating that those so-called Chinese spy theories are all false news without evidence and full of ideology. For a long time, the media’s smear campaign against the Chinese communities has led to the stigmatization of the Asian community. Just like at the beginning of the epidemic, many people who did not know the truth said through media reports: “Chinese virus, Asians get out.” Such discrimination against the Asian community has caused serious physical and mental harm.
After such news is reported by the media, the Belgian society will form the impression that “all Chinese are spies”, which will affect the operation of Chinese companies. The second generation of Chinese will be stigmatized and ridiculed in school, and will further aggravate the stereotype of the Chinese community among Belgians: bad things are done by Chinese or Russians. . . . .
According to Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, “Prohibition of Discrimination”, the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status. The FAE believes that these irresponsible reports have seriously damaged the overall image of the Chinese community and discriminated against the uniqueness of the Chinese as a minority in Belgium. Mr. Sven AERTS called on: mainstream media and journalists should not replace reporting the truth with stereotypes, interact more with the Chinese community, replace tinted speculation and suspicion with equal exchanges and discussions, and do not let McCarthyism and racism make a comeback!
