Diversity officials for the University of California system have banned using “Chinese virus” to refer to the pandemic that originated in the communist nation, instructing students, staff and faculty to discourage others from using the term as well.

The Council of Chief Diversity Officers released a statement instructing everyone in the system to “reject racism, sexism, xenophobia and all hateful or intolerant speech, both in person and online.”

“Be an ‘up-stander,’ and discourage others from engaging in such behavior,” the officers said.

“Do not use terms such as ‘Chinese virus’ or other terms which cast either intentional or unintentional projections of hatred toward Asian communities,” the statement said.

Further, “Do not allow the use of these terms by others.”

There also are common-sense suggestions, such as “be inclusive and remember that everyone has different circumstances.”

The statement also encourages supporting health-care workers and recognizing and abiding by health agency recommendations for behavior.

There also are numerous recommendations for facilitating online classes and interactions, such as not allowing criticism of those in “casual attire.”

“Remember that people may be operating without resources and access to man material items and services,” the document recommends.

The Daily Wire said the university system was “bowing to current political correctness.”

The document instructs people to “refer to the virus as either ‘COVID-19’ or ‘coronavirus’ in both oral and written communications.”

It cites resources from within the University of California system, including a Joint Statement from the Vice Chancellor – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Interim Vice Chancellor – Student Affairs at UC Davis titled “Rejecting Coronavirus Xenophobia.”

That statement said: “A core of our mission at UC Davis Health is, of course, to advance health. Yet, health, privilege and bias are often intertwined. In recent weeks, we have seen an example of this in the alarming rise in bigotry and xenophobia against Asian communities. For many Asians, the racism is not new, but it has been emboldened as Asians are scapegoated for the coronavirus epidemic. This is doubly painful as Chinese communities also bear the weight of most of the lives lost.”

Also, the Daily Wire reported, Jerry Kang, vice chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at UCLA, said “you can see why I’m concerned about the use of another name, ‘Wuhan virus,’ which reflects both intellectual laziness and stereotyping.”

“It’s lazy in the sense that there are more precise names for the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and the disease that it causes, COVID-19. We’re smart enough to learn the proper nomenclature,” he said.

WND reported last week two members of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission had issued a rebuttal to their panel’s majority statement warning of “growing anti-Asian racism and xenophobia” in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Commission members Peter Kirsanow and Gail Heriot, who regularly dissent with their colleagues’ positions, said they certainly agree that COVID-19 “is no excuse for anyone to attack or insult individuals of Asian descent and that when such acts rise to the level of criminal behavior, law enforcement should immediately intervene.”

“But that’s obvious to just about everyone in America,” they said. “The rare exception is unlikely to read the Commission’s statement, much less be persuaded by it.”

Kirsanow and Heriot challenge the panel’s claim that the relatively small number of incidents cited — mostly involving misbehavor by children and teenagers — indicates there is wave of racially motivated attacks.

See the Media Research Center’s montage of 35 times establishment media used the term “Chinese” or “Wuhan” virus: