Author: Qinna Shen
Source: Transit: A Journal of Travel, Migration, and Multiculturalism in the German-speaking world, vol. 12, no. 2 (2020): 2346
Publication Type: Journal Article
Abstract: Taking a cue from a painting by Jiny Lan, a Chinese artist living in Germany, which captures Merkels refugee policy in 2015, the article examines both official and popular responses to the recent Syrian refugee crisis in China and other East Asian countries. In the painting, Merkel wears a Manchu-style headdress typical of women at the Qing court. Lans portrait of the German Chancellor resembles the Empress Dowager Cixione of the most powerful women in Chinese history, and a ruler with a contentious legacy. The article distills some of the major reasons for a positive or negative attitude toward accepting refugees among Chinese living in both China and Germany. In the coda, it briefly touches on reactions in Japan and South Korea to provide context and contrast.
Although popular opinion in China and within Germanys Chinese communities is divided on the refugee question, there is little interest among Chinese in either country in building a Willkommenskultur. The massive influx of new immigrant groups led Chinese expatriates in Germany such as Jiny Lan to distance themselves from Merkels impactful refugee policy. Their political views tended to converge with those of Merkels critics both in the government and among the right-leaning populace. The apocalyptic equation of Merkel and the Empress Dowager Cixi taps into the fear that the end of Germany is near, evident in neologisms such as Europastan, Deutschstan, and Francistan. The refugee issue is an ongoing one. Merkel has by now modified her position, but the effects of her refugee policy in 2015 still remain to be seen.