Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Chinese Adoptees in the United States

This talk presents the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese adoptees in the United States and their strategies and practices to deal with anti-Asian racisms during the pandemic. The particular diaspora of Chinese adoptees is often perceived to be the result of China’s One-Child Policy, the traditional preference for a son in a Chinese family, and the international adoption program (Johnson 2016). Although most Chinese adoptees grew up in white American families, and are officially American citizens, their position and citizenship have not protected them from anti-Asian racisms during the pandemic. I draw on 26 in-depth interviews conducted from February to August 2021 and class surveys conducted in Anti-Asian Racism class in Spring 2022 to illustrate how Chinese adoptees experienced racisms and discrimination during the pandemic, and how they fight for social justice for all communities of color.