Photo: VCG

 The controversy caused by fashion magazine Teen Vogue's newly appointed editor-in-chief’s anti-Asian tweets has attracted the attention of Chinese netizens, who say that people of color in the US should unite to fight against racism instead of attacking each other.

Alexi McCammond, who was appointed to lead the magazine last week, has already issued two apologies for the tweets, one of which was published after a major sponsor of the magazine, Ulta Beauty, cut ties.

The anti-Asian tweets McCammond posted in 2011 and 2012, which include mocking Asian people’s eyes and abusing an Asian teacher, have been translated and posted on Chinese social media platforms.

The tweets caused Chinese netizens to express concern over a rise in anti-Asian sentiment and attacks against Asian-Americans in the US. Others pointed out that McCammond is also a person of color and so most likely has experienced racism herself. 

“As a person of color, why does she have an unfriendly attitude toward Asian-Americans? Shouldn’t all people of color who experience racism in the US unite together to fight against racists?” one netizen commented on the news platform guancha.com.

Some netizens questioned whether campaigns launched by African-Americans such as “Black Lives Matter” are only aimed at discrimination against African-Americans instead of all racism.

Amidst a rise in anti-Asian sentiment in the US, Chinese-American basketball player Jeremy Lin spoke up for the Asian-American community on Instagram in February. 

"Being a nine-year NBA veteran doesn't protect me from being called 'coronavirus' on the court," the post was seen as evidence of Asian-Americans’ tough situation in the country.

Besides mentioning racist insults on the basketball court during his stint in the NBA G-league, Lin also emphasized that he was fed up with the typical stereotypes about Asian-Americans that can lead to racially-charged insults.

One Chinese exchange student surnamed Li, who was in Chicago while the COVID-19 pandemic situation in the US was becoming critical, told the Global Times on Sunday that he could feel an unfriendly atmosphere around him because of his appearance while being in the city, but many students from different places also remained polite and friendly to him.

“I spent more time at the apartment to avoid the virus and potential attacks later,” Li said.

Some netizens tried to take hope in another young newly appointed editor-in-chief of fashion magazine Vogue, which is the sister publication to Teen Vogue.

Margaret Zhang, a Chinese-Australian fashion blogger, was appointed as the editor-in-chief of Vogue China at the age of 27 in February.

“This fact proves that Chinese and Asian people deserve to be respected and treated equally,” one post said.