Photo: Screenshot of Twitter

A tweet in Chinese which reads, "clothing for Asians to protect themselves," and includes photos of shirts with slogans such as "I am not Chinese," has sparked widespread debate among netizens who feel the T-shirts could inspire more racism amid the COVID-19 pandemic and encourage secessionist behavior. 

The shirts are available in black and white and include other slogans that read, "I am Korean, not Chinese," and "I am not Chinese. I am Taiwanese." 

As of this writing, the tweet, posted by @OttoHuang120, supposedly from Taiwan, had garnered over 100 comments 540 retweets. 

Similar tweets also appeared last month. On March 13, one tweet read, "In case you are an Asian and you do not want to be misrecognized as a Chinese" with "f**k China" slogan, with netizens commenting on the blatant racism. 

As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads worldwide, overseas Chinese have been faced with a dual- threat - the deadly infectious disease and emerging racism against them. Rational netizens have asserted that such racist tweets only add fuel to the flames. 

One netizen said that although confirmed COVID-19 cases were first reported in China, "the birthplace is not necessarily [China]." 

The slogans that suggest people from Taiwan are not Chinese have  caused unease among Chinese netizens, who noted that those who designed the T-shirts are themselves a virus. The ill attempts from secessionist forces to separate Taiwan from China will only be in vain.