U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Wilmington, Delaware.
Leah Millis | Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday reacted to a current rise in violent attacks versus Asian Americans.
“We must continue to commit ourselves to combating racism and discrimination,” Harris stated on Twitter.
Videos of current attacks on older Asian Americans in California’s Bay Area spread throughout social networks in the recently.
One video revealed a 91-year-old guy being pressed from behind and landing facedown on the street in the Chinatown area of Oakland, Harris’ home town.
Another video revealed 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee strongly pushed to the ground in San Francisco. He later on passed away, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Harris’ remarks begun Lunar New Year, as the Covid pandemic and worries of violence moistened vacation celebrations.
Other political leaders have actually remembered of the concern.
“Especially in the days leading up to Lunar New Year, a time of cultural pride and celebration for millions of Asian Americans, the increase in attacks in Chinatowns in particular has had a chilling effect on our community,” Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, stated in a declaration Thursday.
Hate events and violence versus Asian Americans have actually increased throughout the Covid pandemic. Advocates state anti-Asian beliefs have actually been stired by the actions of leaders such as previous President Donald Trump, who continuously described the coronavirus in terms such as “Chinese virus” and “Kung flu.”
“Across the country, there were more than 2,500 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents related to COVID-19 between March and September 2020,” a current research study by the Asian American Bar Association of New York and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP discovered.
“And this number understates the actual number of anti-Asian hate incidents because most incidents are not reported,” the research study stated.
When asked at a White House instruction Monday about President Joe Biden’s reaction to the current violent attacks versus Asian Americans, press secretary Jen Psaki stated the president condemns discrimination versus Asian Americans.
“He has been outspoken and making clear that attacks — verbal attacks, any attacks of any form — are unacceptable and we need to work together to address them,” Psaki stated.
Biden signed an executive order on Jan. 26 targeting xenophobia versus Asian Americans.
“We value President Biden’s executive order requiring higher securities for the [Asian and Pacific Islander] neighborhood as an outcome of bigotry and xenophobia connected to the pandemic, and we thank those who stand in uniformity with the API neighborhood,” California’s Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus stated in a declaration Thursday.
“But it is not enough to simply disavow racism, xenophobia, and violence. We must call attention to these injustices and protect one another,” the caucus stated.
