"guilty by association" is easier to process mentally, for both sides. There is a case to be made that a lot of the online anti-China rhetorics could be attribu

"guilty by association" is easier to process mentally, for both sides. There is a case to be made that a lot of the online anti-China rhetorics could be attributed to the mentality of "because it's China", without digging into the individual allegations to see if they are on sound grounds. On the other hand, for the "pro-China" camp (no matter if you are in it by choice, or got thrown into it), it's very easy to attribute any criticism against China to "racism/they don't like China/The West is prejudiced against China" without looking into the validity of individual criticism. The great danger of the current day and age with social media, is that the mob on both sides will keep the divide deeper, giving politicians, from both side, the levers they want to achieve their own political goals, which may have nothing to do with the various issues that caused the divide in the first place. The reality is always nuanced, but sadly not convenient.