Sinophobia acts, including tampering with the Chinese flag and discriminating against Asians in Belgium’s Aalst carnival sparked strong condemnation from the Chinese Embassy in Belgium, and experts warned that some people in the West should not use liberalism as a shield to give rise to racism.
The announcement disclosed that Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming wrote a protest letter to the mayor of Aalst and urged relevant parties to eliminate the negative impact of the discrimination in Sunday’s carnival as soon as possible and make a public apology.
“It hurts Chinese people’s feelings and it also disregards and disrespects the great efforts and sacrifices made by the Chinese people in fighting against the coronavirus outbreak,” read the letter posted on the official site of the Chinese Embassy in Belgium on Tuesday.
The letter came after carnival participants changed China’s national flag and staged a sinophobic performance during the festival.
“I hope Belgium takes the hurtful impact of the event seriously not only to China but the world, especially in the time of the epidemic, which calls for love and unity rather than mocking and creating antagonism,” An Yukang, a Beijing-based politics commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
“No one wants to see discrimination, stereotypes and lack of respect become increasingly extreme and severe as the coronavirus spreads around the world,” said An.
“Belgium is a country with a liberal tradition, but liberalism is not a shield for blatant discrimination and pranks.”
The annual carnival in the small Belgian town is notorious for its bold and excessive mocking about almost everything. Besides the coronavirus, symbols of Nazism, anti-Semitism and racism appeared in this year’s event, which sparked worldwide rebuke, media reported.
Belgium’s prime minister Sophie Wilmes also said on Sunday that some caricatures of Jews at this year’s Aalst carnival “damage” the country’s values and reputation.
