Antisemitism in thePeople's Republic of China is mostly a 21st-century phenomenon. There is little evidence of antisemitism in China in historical sources.[1][2][3] During theReform and Opening Up period, academics noted that the spread ofphilosemitism, which depicts Jews asnaturally intelligent and financially savvy, gained traction in the popular press.[4] In the 2020s,antisemitic conspiracy theories began to spread and intensify in China.[4][5][6] While there is not a large Jewish diaspora in China, much of the antisemitism is claimed by some to come fromChinese nationalists andanti-Israelleftists,[7] as part of a reaction against supposed foreignencirclement and influence,[8] although the link between anti-Israel sentiment and antisemitism is debated. Some Chinese people believe inantisemitic tropes thatJews secretly rule the world.[9][10]
Public consciousness about the presence of Jews in China has a variety of historical influences.[10][11]: 98 Academic Eric Reinders ofEmory University states that these include "Protestant missionaries, Jews as amodel forChinese immigrants, Japaneseanti-Jewish articles circulated in China in the 1930s, the presence of EuropeanJewish refugees in Shanghai, and the politics around Israel as a proxy ofU.S. imperialism.[11]: 98 According to Tuvia Gering, some early Chinese reformers such asLiang Qichao,Hu Shih, andSun Yat-sen mixed racist remarks about Jews with admiration of theZionist movement.[8] Gering states thatantisemitic conspiracy theories have historically been a useful tool for thegovernment of the People's Republic of China against Western countries.[12]
Stereotypes of Jews were present among intellectuals of theNew Culture Movement.[13] According to academic Yuang Marcus Liu, Republican-era intellectuals' privileging of Western ideas made them receptive to antisemitism.[14]
In the 1930s, the Jews ofHarbin living under theManchukuo puppet state of theEmpire of Japan were the victims of antisemitism by elements of theRussian Fascist Party.[15]: 46 The Japanese tolerated this antisemitic treatment.[15]: 46 As a result, many Jews of Harbin fled toShanghai under theRepublic of China.[15]: 46
During theHolocaust, Shanghai was one of the few places in the world that did not need require a visa or travel documents.[15]: 11 In 1941, during theSecond Sino-Japanese War, Japanese imperial forces began taking control of the areas of Shanghai which they had not previously occupied.[15]: 119 In November of that year,Nazi Germany stripped Jews abroad of their citizenship, resulting in Jews abroad becoming stateless refugees.[15]: 119 On 8 February 1943, the Japanese occupiers created what they described as the designated area (theShanghai ghetto) inHongkew where they re-located and segregated the Jewish refugees whom Nazi Germany had stripped of citizenship.[15]: 119 Jews in the Japanese-run ghetto could not leave without a pass and experienced extreme poverty.[15]: 120 The Shanghai ghetto lasted until theJapanese surrendered in 1945.[15]: 119–120
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Chinese stereotypes of Jews were mostlyphilosemitic, according to academic Yang Meng.[16] Some mass market books have associated Jews with wealth-building.[11]: 98–99 Jews have also been praised for valuing education like Chinese, although this is often also framed competitively.[11]: 99 Some scholars have noted that philosemitic stereotypes in China, which gained traction during theReform and Opening Up period, turned antisemitic when they were no longer considered useful to official narratives.[4][17][18]
Hongbing Song, a Chinese-American IT consultant and amateur historian, published theCurrency Wars series starting in 2007, believingJewish financiers controlled the international banking systems since the era ofNapoleon.[19] Song also says in his book that the key functions of theFederal Reserve have been ultimately controlled by five private banks, includingCitibank, all of which have maintained "close ties" with theRothschild family, one Jewish group that led to the1997 Asian financial crisis. The book became a bestseller and even has been read by some high ranking Chinese officials.[4][20][21]
According to surveys which were conducted by theAnti-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.[9][22] Since 2015, descendants of theKaifeng Jews have come under government pressure and suspicion.[23]
During the2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, state-owned newspaperTa Kung Pao published antisemiticGeorge Soros conspiracy theories, displayingSoros, a Jew, as a reptile in collusion withJimmy Lai.[24]
The May 2021events in Gaza precipitated Chinesestate-run media invokingantisemitic tropes and sentiments, encouraged by top Chinese diplomats, and rehashed by well-known Chinese political commentators.[8] In particular, Israel's embassy in Beijing accusedChina Global Television Network (CGTN) of "blatant antisemitism" when it broadcast a program during the2021 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.[25][26][27]
In September 2021,BYD was criticized for appointing Lu Kewen, an onlineinfluencer known for spreading antisemitic tropes, as a spokesperson for the company.[8]Political bloggerSima Nan'sWeibo channel spread the notion that Jews colluded with theEmpire of Japan to establish a Jewish homeland on Chinese territory during theSecond Sino-Japanese War in what has been termed theFugu Plan, which purported that "Jewish capitalists" are puppeteering Western powers to contain China's rise.[7]
In 2023, articles that interpreted the Fugu Plan as an antisemitic conspiracy theory against China went viral on Chinese social media.[6][28] Following thedischarge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, conspiracy theories spread in China that theTokyo Electric Power Company was financed by Jewish people.[29]
Antisemitic reactions to theGaza war were widespread on Chinesestate media and social media.[30][31][32][33][34] Antisemitic comments are not removed from Chinese social media sites such asXiaohongshu.[35][36][37][38] Sympathetic portrayals ofHamas have proliferated onBilibili.[39] In a November 2023 interview withVoice of America, Israel's ambassador to China,Irit Ben-Abba, spoke aboutChina–Israel 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, as according to Ben-Abba, there is still significant admiration of Israel and Jews.[40]China Central Television (CCTV) falsely claimed that "Jews represent just 3% of the American population but control 70% of its wealth."[37] In response to the2024 pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses, former editor-in-chief of theGlobal TimesHu Xijin stated that the protests show that "Jewish political and business alliance's control over American public opinion has declined."[41]
Antisemitic tropes have also been spread online by theMinistry of Public Security'sSpamouflage influence operation.[12] In October 2024,The Washington Post reported that Spamouflage targeted U.S. representativeBarry 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 theChinese Communist Party, and as a result, he has expressed support forTaiwanese independence. Moore is not Jewish.[42]
Several Jewish leaders and activists, such as Rabbi Matt Trusch, have used Chinese social media such asDouyin to educate the Chinese populace about antisemitism and debunk common stereotypes and conspiracy theories.[7] Academic Tuvia Gering also called Chinese and Israeli officials to address the growing antisemitic sentiment before it has a chance to spread further.[8]
Academic Yang Meng describes contemporary antisemitism in China as "ideological, narrative-driven, geopolitically functional antisemitism arising without a Christian legacy, without a racial Jewish “other,” and without a significant local Jewish community."[43] Analysts have noted that antisemitism in China is a relatively understudied subject, and that viral antisemitic posts on social media does not necessarily indicate the average opinion of Chinese people, as there are also many posts condemning antisemitism.[44]
The Fugu Plan never came to fruition, but the antisemitic and ultranationalist political blogger Yu Li (who blogs under the name Sima Nan) has shared the story with his nearly 3 million followers. In a 20-minute-long antisemitic rant, he says the Fugu Plan is evidence that the Jews colluded with the Japanese to establish a Jewish homeland on Chinese territory — a conspiracy that fits a nationalist narrative that China is constantly under attack by foreign powers.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)Chinese antisemitism can largely be characterized as an inversion of previous philosemitic stereotypes that become negative and threatening when they no longer contribute to a desired narrative of Chinese global superiority and centrality.
