Yuri Chia

Title: Yuri Chia
Description: Was there a particular stereotype that you faced?

“One stereotype was that people said that I’m communist because I identify myself as Chinese American and China is a communist country and one of the most dominant forces in the world today. Historically, America has always feared communism, so I’ve always been a number one enemy to the Americans, going back to the Cold War and the Soviet Union. So there is definitely a fear of China here and they try to put that on me, saying that I’m communist. But I’m from America and I’m not communist at all. And Taiwan is not a communist country. The Taiwan Republic is a democratic de facto state, so I was very angry. It’s not easy to understand political concepts like communism and democracy - they’re not concepts people can grasp very easily. So, on one hand, I can feel bad for them that they don’t understand and on the other hand I was very upset.”

- Yuri Chia