Racist graffiti on community noticeboard, Upper Hutt

This digital photograph captures an instance of racist vandalism which occurred in Upper Hutt, Wellington between 31 April and 1 May 2020 — soon after New Zealand moved out of its nationwide Covid-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown and into Alert Level 3. 

A member of the Wellington Chinese community came across the vandalised noticeboard and captured it on her phone before sending it through to the New Zealand Human Rights Commission (and later the police). The image subsequently featured in an online post on Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon’s Facebook page condemning the act and drawing attention to the spike in racism and xenophobia experienced by ethnic Chinese and Asian communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The post read:

This morning I received this photo of graffiti saying ‘Chinese not welcome’.

It was taken by a member of the Chinese community in Wellington. She said she came across this graffiti during “a beautiful run this morning. It is not how I expected to start my day” and expressed concern that whoever wrote this lives locally. She hadn’t noticed it on any of her previous daily walks, and thought it was likely to have been freshly painted. She also worried about Chinese children in the neighbourhood who see might see this.

As the Race Relations Commissioner, I am really worried about “COVID-19 racism” becoming normalised. “Chinese not welcome” is an ugly, racist and xenophobic message that has no place in New Zealand society. No person should be made to be fearful and unwelcome in their surroundings. This COVID-19 racism started in January and continued throughout level 4 lockdown and if we don’t curb it now, we could see more of this – and possibly worse!

Everyone must act now. Be an upstander against racism. When the Prime Minister says ‘be kind,’ she means everyone, Chinese and Asian New Zealanders, all people. Be kind to all people.

I wrote an Op-ed in the NZ Herald today that I have made available on the Human Rights Commission website [link below]. I talk about how COVID-19 related racism against Chinese people in New Zealand is not new but also of the many ways racism is showing its ugly face.

COVID-19 is not a reason to be racist. If you see any incidents of racism, report it. New Zealanders need to stand up against racism. #Givenothingtoracism #RacismNotWelcome
[image supplied]
https://www.hrc.co.nz/.../meng-foon-covid-19.../...

The post went on to generate significant online debate; as of 21 May 2020, this post had received 183 comments and 106 shares on Facebook. In a follow-up post on May 5th, Meng Foon praised the prompt action of Pinehaven Progressive Association, and particularly Mike Salmon, in response to the incident.

You will be glad to hear this good news about the anti-Chinese graffiti in the Hutt last week. Local resident Mike Salmon sent me these photos of the welcome sign being ‘edited’ and repainted. Ka mau te wehi Mike, thanks for helping to ensure that all community members feel welcome.

I was also really pleased to receive these kind words from the president of the Pinehaven Progressive Association Emma Holderness:

‘Pinehaven welcomes everyone, we’re committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment and took decisive action to remove the offending graffiti immediately. We were heartened by the level of community support and overwhelming intolerance towards this hateful behaviour.’

With your support we can all build an inclusive community, so thanks to Mike and Emma for responding to this incident in such a positive way.

Since December 2019, when the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus has spread rapidly around the globe. Anxieties fuelled by the pandemic have in turn triggered waves of racial and xenophobic behaviour towards marginalised peoples. In Aotearoa New Zealand, ethnic Chinese and New Zealanders of East Asian heritages have borne the brunt of these racist forms of rhetoric, abuse and behaviour, paralleling developments in neighbouring and allied countries such as Australia. As of May 2020 the NZHRC had formally received 59 enquires and complaints involving experiences of racism towards individuals who had identified themselves as being of ethnic Chinese or other Asian heritage - in spite of significant restrictions on social interaction during the Alert Level 4 lockdown and Alert Level 3 period. Reported examples of this behaviour have included racial abuse on the streets, racist and xenophobic online commentary, instances of unfair treatment in various social settings, racist graffiti vandalism, and physical assaults on members of Chinese and other Asian communities.

References:

Facebook post, 1 May 2020, Meng Foon - Race Relations Commissioner, available at https://www.facebook.com/MengFoonHRC/posts/259533268762741 (accessed 21 May 2020).

Facebook post, 5 May 2020, Meng Foon - Race Relations Commissioner, available at https://www.facebook.com/MengFoonHRC/posts/262711951778206 (accessed 21 May 2020).
Meng Foon, ‘Meng Foon: Covid-19 coronavirus no excuse for racism,’ first published in the New Zealand Herald, 1 May 2020, https://www.hrc.co.nz/news/meng-foon-covid-19-coronavirus-fear-no-excuse-racism/ [accessed 15 May 2020].

Human Rights Watch, ‘Covid-19 Fuelling anti-Asian racism and xenophobia worldwide, 12 May 2020, https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/covid-19-fueling-anti-asian-racism-and-xenophobia-worldwide [accessed 15 May 2020].

World Health Organisation, ‘WHO Timeline - Covid-19,’ https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/27-04-2020-who-timeline---covid-19 [accessed 15 May 2020].

Australian Human Rights Commission, ‘Racism underlines Covid-19 response,’ 8 April 2020, https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/racism-undermines-covid-19-response [accessed 15 May 2020].

Australian Human Rights Commission, ‘Where’s all the data on Covid-19 racism?’ 9 May 2020, https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/opinions/wheres-all-data-covid-19-racism [accessed 15 May 2020].