FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Alli Lau | CODEPINK China campaign coordinator | [email protected]
WHERE: New York Times Corporate Office (620 8th Ave) NYC, NY
WHEN: Tuesday 3/8 at 12pm ET
March 8th, 2022 — This International Women's Day, CODEPINK and partners from The People’s Forum NYC sent around 2500 signatures to The New York Times in multiple ways, including hand-delivering to the corporate office in New York City, NY, urging their journalists to stop using Eileen Gu, an 18-year-old girl who chose to ski for China, to further drive Sinophobia and fuel aggression and war on China.
During their coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the New York Times have made no secret about their angle on Eileen Gu with headlines such as “Why is U.S.-born Eileen Gu skiing for China?”, and “Eileen Gu Is Trying to Soar Over the Geopolitical Divide”. These articles contain shocking assumptions such as “Her quest — pleasing the Chinese government and population while marketing herself within the United States and around the world — might be harder than anything she will perform on snow in Beijing.”
CODEPINK’s letter, with nearly 2500 signatures, calls on New York Times to apologize to Eileen Gu and respect her right to choose, and ask the publication, which garners millions in readership, to report on China in a way that does not fuel Sinophobia and justify more aggression against China and people of Chinese descent. You can read the full letter here.
A critical element of the U.S. hybrid war on China involves misinformation campaigns to manufacture consent for increased military aggression and war. It is clear from their reporting that the NYT is on the side of escalating a conflict with China, including the demonization of a young female athlete.
This is happening as young Asian women in America are experiencing escalating violence, including the recent murders of Christina Yuna Lee and Michelle Alyssa Go. Empty gestures of #StopAsianHate have done nothing and will continue to do nothing to address the systemic issues of growing anti-Asian and anti-China sentiments–which directly correlate with the increasing violence against Asian elders and Asian women in the United States. The interpersonal manifestation of this violence is clearly linked to the demonization of China in the media and Congress, as well as the wars the U.S. has waged and continues to wage in Asia. When the mainstream media constantly demonizes China, and Congress reinforces the idea that China is an “enemy” or “adversary” to the U.S. through introducing and passing legislation aimed at “countering,” “competing with” and “containing” China, anyone who can be perceived to be Chinese is put in danger.
For you can read our full statement on Christina Yuna Lee’s preventable death here.
At CODEPINK, we are firmly anti-war, and support young women athlete’s right to choose which country they represent at the Olympic games. The U.S. government would rather pad the pockets of military defense contractors than invest in life-affirming services for its citizens. By producing journalism that fans the flames of Sinophobia, the NYT will be complicit in the escalation of aggression and violence against Chinese people at home and abroad.
