Yue Parkinson is a freelance writer and bilingual author who combines Chinese and Western empathy and know-how. She is the author of China and the West: Unravelling 100 Years of Misunderstanding, and China’s Ukraine Dilemma: The Shaping of a New World Order.
The community of Chinese immigrants in Britain used to take pride in members of the diaspora succeeding in British politics, but that is no longer the case. As Sino-British relations have soured, more mainland migrants have started living in the UK according to China’s unspoken rules and dare not speak out.
The sharp downturn in relations between the UK and China may have caught many in Britain by surprise. People in both countries do not fully understand each other, with media narratives fuelling mistrust. It’s time to take a step back and explore grounds for peace.
Stereotypes about British people being racist persist but voters, it seems, don’t care about a candidate’s looks, accent or whether they are an immigrant.
Chinese critics of the British Museum’s decision to title its event a celebration of Korean Lunar New Year were keen to defend their country’s culture, but probably left a bad impression. The episode highlights how first-generation Chinese immigrants to the UK may struggle to find their footing amid strained Sino-British relations.
Amid China’s pandemic turmoil in 2022, many turned to platforms like WeChat to vent their frustration. As a Chinese living in the UK, I feel fortunate, and guilty, to have the freedom to speak out, relatively untouched by the strict censorship.
At the start of the pandemic, China won praise for its seeming ability to unite the public behind its contagion-fighting measures. But after three years of unrelenting lockdowns and a string of tragedies, that facade has fallen to reveal a policy that risks undermining human rights.
Those arriving in the UK in search of freedom will find it comes in conflicting forms, from uniting against an invasion to refusing to wear a medical mask. For a Chinese expat taught that national interest comes before personal want, such expressions are eye-opening, if sometimes confusing.
The royal family is neither the product of an incomplete class revolution nor the source of class anxiety. Instead, it is the glue that holds British society together, a uniting force that has made British democracy stronger and more durable.