> a convenient but not completely honest way to deflect claims of racism
And sometimes claims of racism can be a convenient but not quite honest way to deflect criticism of policy.
Could we avoid straw man arguments?
There is an element of racism on issues related to China. There is no point denying it.
There is certainly less of it (or at least it is much less obvious) than during the anti-China campaign in the West/US during the 50s and 60s but it is still there.
As I wrote, some people just complain too much... It's quite obvious in this thread.
We can - but that wasn't a straw-man argument.
> There is an element of racism on issues regarding China.
I agree. There is also an element of "that's racist" being used to deflect criticism.
A comment with similar contents as yours but "pro-China" would immediately be labelled as coming from a 'bot' or someone paid by the Chinese government.
I find this fascinating. The current climate regarding China is fantastic book material for Noam Chomsky.