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Ignorance, Orientalism and Sinophobia in Knowledge Production on COVID‐19
Author(s) -
Zhang Yunpeng,
Xu Fang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/tesg.12441
Subject(s) - ignorance , orientalism , authoritarianism , sociology , racism , china , conflation , political science , epistemology , environmental ethics , democracy , gender studies , history , law , philosophy , politics , archaeology
In this commentary, based on a close readi ng of media reports and our everyday experiences as overseas Chinese researchers, we examine the production of ignorance surrounding the COVID‐19. Specifically, we focus on ignorance caused by selective inattention and power plays. We challenge the dominant dualistic frame of authoritarianism versus democracy and the role it plays in overly simplifying and even distorting the responses of Chinese authorities in handling this public health emergency. We maintain that this binary thinking is reflective of the conflation of orientalism, sinophobia and statephobia in the West, which also intersects with sexism and racism within and outside academic sites of knowledge production. The consequence is that knowledge accumulated by experts from China as well as other Asian countries about the virus and mitigation strategies are marginalised, discredited, distrusted, if not dismissed altogether.