Death threats, distrust and racism: how anti-Chinese sentiment in Australia 'seeped into the mainstream'

Threatening letters sent to Asian councillors and a surge in race hate attacks during the pandemic has renewed calls for a centralised hate tracker

Councillor Kun Huang received the letter on a Monday. Among the insults about his name, the threats of death, the blame for the Covid-19 pandemic, the accusation that he had been stealing all the milk powder, buying up all the houses and bringing disease to Australia for centuries", the staff at the Cumberland Council noticed a name and an address. This was a race hate letter signed by its supposed perpetrator.

Two days later, councillor Craig Chung at the City of Sydney, councillor Christina Wu at the Georges River council and another local councillor received similar letters.