Thanks for responding, Matt. The point is not whether China would use American Chinese individuals as saboteurs as a matter of policy. China would be likely to mistrust the Chinese in the U.S. as having assimilated too much (which is the argument that Iris Chang makes). This was the case with Japan: Japanese leaders themselves didn’t think that they could rely on the Japanese living in America.
The point is that, regardless of their actions and of official Chinese policies, the American Chinese would be suspected of working for a foreign enemy. Their allegiance would be questioned ceaselessly. They might lose their jobs, or worse. This happened in multiple cases during the later parts of the Cold War, when Chinese Americans working for the federal government were harassed, investigated, and fired with no proof because of paranoia. Now imagine what would happen in the case of a shooting war, across American society as a whole.
During World War 2, there was essentially no evidence to suggest that the Japanese would side with Japan, and authorities had already identified a few thousand that could have become troublemakers. Yet, by popular demand and because of greed and self-interest by certain politicians and military officers, the response was still to intern all 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry. Even after many thousands of these folks were allowed to serve in the U.S. military (with great distinction and many casualties, no less), many at home still wanted nothing to do with them and tried to prevent them from returning to their homes.
And yes, it’s a different time from 1941–1942, but racist responses are a constant in times of war (not just in the U.S., but virtually anywhere). I think it’s a thought experiment/eventuality that merits discussion because, if/when a U.S. carrier is badly damaged or sunk in the Western Pacific (essentially, if things get really out of control), then you better start to think about what the government and citizens might start planning with regard to their ethnic Chinese neighbors.
