To Combat Anti-Asian Hatred, America Must Unite and Act

To Combat Anti-Asian Hatred, America Must Unite and Act

by Zhengyu “Z” Huang

President of Committee of 100

In the wake of continuing incidents of hate, violence, and racism against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community across the United States, we here at Committee of 100 outlined a seven-point action plan for lawmakers and law enforcement to improve their efforts to combat hate and quell a climate of fear within the AAPI community.

Despite President Biden’s Executive Memorandum disavowing discrimination against the AAPI community, intimidation, discrimination, and violence have only seemed to increase.

As a proud American organization dedicated to the advancement and inclusion of all 5 million Chinese Americans, Committee of 100 has spoken out against discrimination and racism for more than 30 years. We have been extremely saddened to witness the increased attacks against Chinese Americans and the Asian American community overall. But now the time has come to unite and act:

• We call on all elected officials – including governors, mayors, and members of Congress—to forcefully denounce all acts of anti-Asian racism and bigotry.
• We call on the new U.S. Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice to set up a task force to specifically investigate and combat increased violence directed towards the AAPI community.
• We call on the Department of Justice to revamp its China Initiative, which has been tied to the unwarranted racial profiling of Chinese scientists and researchers.
• We call for the federal government to provide funding to state and local law enforcement agencies for education, training, and community outreach.
• We call on all law enforcement agencies to adopt a zero-tolerance stance towards acts of bigotry, racism and hate inflicted on Asian Americans, whether verbal, physical or psychological.
• We call on all elected officials and lawmakers to ensure survivors of hate crimes have access to support services in languages used by their local communities.
• We call for the expulsion of any public official, government employee, or law enforcement officer found to be stoking hate or discriminating against people of Asian descent.

Reports of discrimination, racism, and violence towards people of Chinese and Asian descent have significantly increased in recent years – and these are only the incidents captured or reported. These acts of hate have no place in America, whether directed against Asian Americans or anyone else.

This week, we announced that we were teaming with our friends at the Anti-Defamation League to work on implementing tangible solutions that will change the dangerous trajectory of violence and racism directed at Chinese Americans and the AAPI community.

Chinese Americans and the AAPI community overall have made tremendous contributions to the fabric of American life for centuries. In February, Committee of 100 released a report “From Foundations to Frontiers” which looks at 175 years of Chinese American contributions to the United States.

Despite these contributions, members of the community continue to face violent assaults and hate because of their heritage. Like many Americans, the AAPI community has faced increased unemployment, food and housing insecurity, shuttering of local small businesses, and safety risks to frontline and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. These unwarranted attacks, fueled by fear and misinformation, have made an already difficult time even harder. In the past year alone, close to 3,000 incidents of hate have been reported against the AAPI community.

Committee of 100 stands in solidarity with the victims, survivors, and families who have suffered loss and pain due to these incidents of hate.

More work must be done to address historic inequalities facing the AAPI community and to dispel the misinformation and fear driving these attacks.

With one voice, we call on our federal, state, and local elected officials to speak up and act. We must speak out for justice, peace, prosperity, and the preservation of our valued Chinese American culture.

Together, we can make a difference!