Racism is a virus. In an effort to bring awareness to the issues that Asian Americans face, “More Than a Minority,” is a series of articles that focuses on the Asian American experience and the economic impact of racially charged language on Chinese-owned businesses. Compiling economic evidence, anecdotes from working professionals, and my own personal experiences, I aim to shed light on the pressing issues my community is facing during this restless time. Let me be clear: this series is not meant to detract from the Black Lives Matter Movement, but rather, to promote ally ship between both communities. Our liberation is bound together. I encourage you to continue sharing your voice, loudly and proudly, as we fight for a world where the color of our skin does not define our opportunities. –Sarah
Boston’s Chinatown, already struggling with modernization and gentrification, weathers the coronavirus pandemic and xenophobic attacks.
August 10, 2020, 11 am EDT
Written by Sarah Chu
Normally Boston’s Chinatown is bustling with tourists holding their wide camera lenses, eager to capture the perfect shot of the Chinatown Gate during this time of year. Hong Kong Eatery, the city’s premier restaurant for authentic Cantonese cuisine, would have a line that circled around the block. But not this summer.
This year, the novel coronavirus turns Chinatown into a ghost town. From the deserted Chinatown restaurants to quiet Asian hair salons, emptiness has become the “new normal.”
Instead of a bustling Cantonese eatery, Hong Kong Eatery faces an economic catastrophe, challenging the very identity that draws on thousands of travelers every year.
While restaurants around the world have lost business amidst the global pandemic, Chinese restaurants like Hong Kong Eatery have been among the hardest hit. By the estimation of small business owners, foot traffic on the streets of Chinatown across the U.S. are down by 50 percent. For Chinatown restaurants in New York, sales plummeted even worse, with estimates as high as 70 percent.
Though Boston’s Chinatown is a microcosm of the larger Chinese community, dwindling profit margins are likely due to the xenophobic language in statements made by politicians, which point blame at the Chinese for the spread of COVID-19. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, President Trump and HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo’s use of racially insensitive language may have fueled hate crimes against people of Asian descent. The rise in racial discrimination and verbal abuse against people of Asian descent likely contributed to Chinatown’s staggering downfall.
Traditional Chinatown restaurants faced a complex set of challenges even before the pandemic hit. On top of the crippling effects of COVID-19 and the derogatory language posed on Asians, Chinese eateries struggle to modernize their ‘old-school’ business model. Predominantly run by Chinese immigrants, they rely on low prices, volume sales, and high profit margins. Most Chinese restaurants are cash-only because of the service fees of credit cards and delivery services like DoorDash or UberEats. So when COVID-19 shut down all indoor dining, Hong Kong Eatery was forced to contemplate modernizing its services or lose its authenticity.
Perhaps most poignant — and resistant to external pressures — is the gentrifying trend that has been transforming Boston’s diverse neighborhood into a homogenous locale. While some may believe the phenomenon encourages economic development in a neighborhood, more often than not, gentrification displaces affordable and culturally appropriate businesses, replacing them for more expensive chains and restaurants. Prime examples of Chinatown’s construction boom are the Whole Foods near the Ink Block apartment complex and Millennium Place, a $220 million project that have leases starting at $3,500 a month. Luxury development further threatens Chinatown, as local restaurants and small businesses are shutting down, one by one.
Though some locals visit Chinatown for a cheap shrimp lo mein, for many Asian Americans, Chinatown is much more than a foodie destination. The multigenerational community is defined by the fusion of Chinese and American heritage, acting as an emblem of the Chinese diaspora. Boston’s Chinatown became a residential and cultural hub for the Chinese community in New England – the first of its kind in the late 19th century. Today, Boston’s Chinatown continues to cultivate community within the Chinese American network, and spark curiosity among city-dwellers.
Old-school Chinese restaurants — like Hong Kong Eatery — are the backbones of the greater Boston community. The community has been developed by the sheer grit and determination by the will of Chinese immigrants. Its past and present is seamlessly interwoven between the old-style eateries and the first-generation families whom enjoy Sunday dim sum within them. With the compiling economic stresses from the coronavirus pandemic, however, Boston’s Chinatown is on the verge of disappearing altogether.
Chinatown’s existing challenges leave the future of the neighborhood uncertain. Fortunately, not all hope is lost. Congress’s economic revival plan should incorporate both immediate relief and long-term strategies that will strengthen existing cultural assets, and promote the longevity of Boston’s Chinatown. This includes increasing the number of grants and government-backed loans in Congress’ incoming COVID-19 Small Business Assistance Act (SBA). Doing so will add liquidity in their financials, which is essential during this unprecedented economic disruption.
For long-term strategies, Mayor Marty Walsh and Chinese business owners must work together to adapt to market pressures, in addition to further public condemnations of xenophobic attacks against Chinese business owners. Individual contributions, like ordering from a Chinatown restaurant, or donating to grassroots non-profits that protect the Greater Boston’s neighborhoods from gentrification, like the Chinese Progressive Association and Asian Community Development Corporation, will ultimately advance Chinatown’s recovery.
Boston’s Chinatown, like many Chinatowns across the world, have been struggling for a long time. The virus has only laid bare the persisting trends that pervade the local economy. The compiling effects of the viral outbreak, along with the insensitive comments made by politicians, have worsened Chinatown’s existing downward spiral. Despite these challenges, Hong Kong Eatery continues to serve the city’s diverse customer base, one peking duck at a time.
If you are able, please consider supporting your local Chinese restaurants. Thousands of are out of work, and small business owners are struggling amid the indefinite shutdown.
Chinatown Restaurants in the U.S.
· Boston
· New York
· D.C.
Chinatown Restaurants in Europe
· Athens
· Budapest
· Brussels
· London
· Paris