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Tag: Asian americans

  • Asian San Francisco officer attacked in attainable hate crime

    A San Francisco police officer responding to a name a couple of man making threats to folks in Chinatown was attacked by the suspect, who was later arrested on assault and hate crime fees, authorities stated. Surveillance video confirmed the feminine officer, who’s of Asian descent, strategy Gerardo Contreras on Friday and inform him to show round and put his palms on his head.
    The 33-year-old rotated, however whereas the officer places on plastic gloves earlier than patting him down, he turned again to face her, shoved her after which wrestled together with her on the bottom.
    The video, first made public by the San Francisco Police Officers Association, confirmed 4 males dashing to assist, hitting Contreras and making an attempt to tug him off the officer as he punches her within the head and face. Shortly afterward, different officers arrived and arrested Contreras, who is outwardly homeless with psychological well being points and a document of prior arrests.

    It wasn’t instantly identified if Contreras has an lawyer who can communicate on his behalf.
    The assault comes amid a wave of assaults in opposition to Asian Americans in San Francisco and throughout the nation because the coronavirus pandemic took maintain within the US.
    The officer has labored for the division for 5 years and suffered bumps and bruises, Tony Montoya, president of the San Francisco Police Officers Association, informed the San Francisco Chronicle.
    Police spokesperson Robert Rueca confirmed the assault to the newspaper, saying, “We are not confirming the suspect’s statements toward witnesses or the Asian female officer. Our investigation is looking at aspects of this assault on the officer, which includes a possible hate crime and motive.”
    Michael Waldorf had simply completed consuming dinner along with his household when he noticed the assault and jumped in with others to assist the officer.
    “He’s a big guy; he was not letting go. He had a death grip on her. And he was not letting go,” Waldorf informed KGO-TV.
    “I saw it as an emergency. She needed our help, and she needed it right away,” he stated.

  • Biden to signal order to fight anti-Asian American bias

    US President Joe Biden will signal an govt order on Friday addressing an increase in acts of anti-Asian bias and violence within the United States, the White House stated.
    The order will set up the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, and develop language entry and strengthen financial safety and alternative for these communities, it stated in a press release.

    People of Asian descent within the United States have been subjected to growing violence all through the coronavirus pandemic, after COVID-19 appeared to emerge from China and former President Donald Trump repeatedly linked the lethal illness to China.

    But they’ve confronted bias at different factors in US historical past as effectively, most notably throughout World War Two when the federal government eliminated Americans with Japanese roots from their houses alongside the West Coast and compelled them to dwell in camps.

    “The COVID-19 pandemic, and the xenophobic rhetoric used by certain political leaders during this crisis, have led to a tragic spike in acts of anti-Asian bias, violence, and xenophobia,” the White House stated within the assertion
    It added that it will additionally work to assist ease the well being inequities dealing with many native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and different Asian-Americans through the pandemic.

  • Congress OKs invoice to struggle hate crimes vs. Asian Americans

    Congress authorised laws Tuesday supposed to curtail a placing rise in hate crimes towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, sending President Joe Biden a bipartisan denunciation of the spate of brutal assaults which have proliferated throughout coronavirus pandemic.
    The invoice, which the House handed on a 364-62 vote, will expedite the evaluation of hate crimes on the Justice Department and make grants out there to assist native regulation enforcement companies enhance their investigation, identification and reporting of incidents pushed by bias, which frequently go underreported. It beforehand handed the Senate 94-1 in April after lawmakers reached a compromise. Biden has mentioned he’ll signal it.
    “Asian Americans have been screaming out for help, and the House and Senate and President Biden have clearly heard our pleas,” mentioned Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., who helped lead efforts to cross the invoice within the House.
    To many Asian Americans, the pandemic has invigorated deep-seated biases that in some instances date again to the Chinese Exclusion Act of greater than a century in the past. President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to the virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China, because the “China Virus” or the “Kung Flu.” And as instances of the sickness started to rise within the US, so too did the assaults, with 1000’s of violent incidents reported up to now 12 months.

    Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., mentioned it’s painful for a lot of to “open up the newspaper everyday and see that yet another Asian American has been assaulted, attacked and even killed.”
    In February, an 84-year-old man died after he was pushed to the bottom close to his dwelling in San Francisco. A younger household was injured in a Texas grocery retailer assault final 12 months. And in Georgia, six Asian ladies have been killed in March throughout throughout a sequence of shootings focusing on staff at therapeutic massage parlours. Prosecutors are searching for hate crimes fees. The ladies who have been killed are talked about within the textual content of the invoice.
    “You start to think, Well, will I be next?” Chu mentioned.
    Yet to some activists, together with organizations representing homosexual and transgender Asian Americans, the laws is misguided. More than 100 teams have signed onto a press release opposing the invoice for relying too closely on regulation enforcement whereas offering too little funding to deal with the underlying points driving an increase in hate crimes.
    “We have had hate crimes laws since 1968, it’s been expanded over and over again, and this new legislation is more of the same,” mentioned Jason Wu, who’s co-chair of GAPIMNY-Empowering Queer & Trans Asian Pacific Islanders. “These issues are about bias, but also rooted in inequality, and lack of investment and resources for our communities. Not a shortage of police and jails.”

    Meng acknowledged a few of the considerations raised by the teams, however countered that the widespread underreporting of hate crimes must be addressed.
    “Law enforcement is currently underreporting these kinds of incidents and it makes it easy to ignore hate crimes all together,” she mentioned.
    Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, advised that the surge in Asian American violence was tied to efforts backed by some Democrats and different progressives to lower funding for the police.
    “This violence, by and large, is happening in Democrat-controlled cities,” mentioned Jordan. If “money wasn’t taken from police and they were allowed to do their jobs, we would probably be in an entirely different position.”
    Yet the invoice additionally represented a uncommon second of bipartisanship in a Congress that has struggled to beat partisan gridlock, whereas underscoring an evolution in Republican thought on hate crimes laws.
    Many conservatives have traditionally dismissed hate crimes legal guidelines, arguing they create particular protected courses in order that victims of comparable crimes are handled otherwise.
    “I’m glad Congress is coming together in a bipartisan way,” mentioned Rep. Young Kim, a California Republican who’s Korean American. “Let’s also recognize that we cannot legislate hate out of our people’s hearts and minds.”

    Speaking earlier within the day, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer mentioned passage of the invoice sends a “powerful message of solidarity” to those that have suffered discrimination in the course of the pandemic.
    “Discrimination against Asian Americans is, sadly, not a new phenomenon in our nation’s history, but the pandemic brought old biases and prejudices back to the foreground,” the New York Democrat mentioned. “The Senate can be proud it took the lead.”

  • A brand new ‘Kung Fu’ collection debuts at a vital time for Asian Americans

    Up-and-coming actors will typically declare to know a wide range of expertise to be thought of for roles, however Olivia Liang set a boundary early in her profession.
    “When I started off in the industry, people would ask me why martial arts wasn’t on my resume because it was such a typecast for Asians to do martial arts roles,” mentioned Liang. “So I made a promise to myself. I was like, ‘I’ll never learn martial arts until someone pays me to learn martial arts.’”
    Liang saved that promise. She discovered martial arts because the lead of The CW’s new collection, “ Kung Fu ” — and she or he’s getting paid for it.
    “Kung Fu” is impressed by the 1972 collection starring David Carradine. It stars Liang as Nicky Shen, who whereas visiting China, joins a monastery the place she is taught Shaolin values and martial arts. When her mentor is killed, she returns residence to seek out her neighborhood disrupted by an area gang. She should use the martial arts expertise she discovered to guard her neighborhood and household, and shortly discovers she’s being focused by the identical murderer who killed her Shaolin mentor.
    Liang says what makes “Kung Fu” totally different than the superhero reveals The CW is thought for is that Nicky will not be a vigilante.
    Kung Fu is a CW present. (Photo: AP Images)
    “Nicky is heroic, but she doesn’t see herself as a hero. She doesn’t have a hero complex where she is going out to find bad guys. She sees bad things happening and feels like she needs to do something about it.”
    The collection has a principally Asian American forged with an Asian American showrunner and govt producer, Christina M. Kim. “I’m so excited that I get to give some people this opportunity to shine,” mentioned Kim.
    “When I was on set for the first time, we did a camera test and I literally was staring at the monitor and it just hit me. I was like, ‘I’ve never seen the screen filled with Asian American faces like this is.’”
    Kim says her writers room can be numerous. She has 5 writers of Asian descent on workers. Half of the writers are additionally ladies, which Kim says is a novelty. “Usually it’s just me and one other woman in a room.”

    “Kung Fu” premieres Wednesday on The CW and the pilot can be re-broadcast on TNT on Sunday.
    Tzi Ma, who performs Nicky’s father, Jin, says it’s exceptional to have so many individuals with Asian backgrounds engaged on the present, as a result of he doesn’t have to clarify the Asian expertise to people who find themselves making inventive assumptions to what that’s like.
    “Not only is there representation on screen but we back it up from our writers room to all our guest directors. It is an amazing sight to behold. I’ve been doing this for a minute now and I have never seen this kind of make up,” mentioned Ma.

    Ma hopes the authenticity of the collection will assist to vary the general public consciousness at a time when hate crimes towards Asian Americans are on the rise.
    “The camera is a very interesting instrument. I want the audience to have the opportunity finally to see what real reputation representation is like. And when they get educated… they will begin to develop their taste of what’s good, what’s real and what’s true.”
    The Asian American neighborhood can be paying consideration, not solely to see their tales on TV however to see how they’re instructed. Valerie Soe, a professor within the Asian American Studies Department at San Francisco State University, hopes the producers and writers can be cautious with what imagery is offered to viewers.
    “The tricky part will be for the folks who are in charge to make sure that the show doesn’t veer too much into older stereotypes and tropes.” She cites the gang storyline as probably problematic as a result of it promotes the speculation “that all Asian men are gangsters and villains.”
    Overall, Soe says the collection is a win as a result of it’s yet one more instance of an Asian American story being instructed.
    “There’s a phrase called ‘narrative plentitude’ that Viet Thanh Nguyen the author uses — about having a lot of different stories out there to pick from so we don’t have to just like obsessively focus on one. Like, ‘Is ’Crazy Rich Asians’ going to represent us accurately? Is ‘Joy Luck Club’ going to represent us accurately?′ It’s like, ‘Well, if that one doesn’t, then we’ve got this other one,’” she mentioned.
    “The more the merrier. I think not everything’s going to be fabulous and not everything’s going to be exactly what we want. But, if you have a lot of different choices, then you don’t expect everything from one.”

  • Atlanta shootings: Hundreds rally to assist Asian-Americans

    Hundreds of individuals rallied outdoors the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta on Saturday to denounce violence in opposition to the Asian-American group after eight folks, together with six girls of Asian descent, have been killed in shootings at three spas earlier this week.
    Demonstrators of all age teams and ethnic backgrounds have been seen waving American flags and carrying placards that learn “We are not the virus” and “Stop Asian Hate.”
    US Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff and Georgia state Representative Bee Nguyen — the primary Vietnamese-American to serve within the Georgia House — have been amongst those that spoke on the occasion.
    “I just wanted to drop by to say to my Asian sisters and brothers, we see you, and, more importantly, we are going to stand with you,” Warnock mentioned as he was met by a cheering crowd and passing automobiles honking their horns in assist of the rally.
    “We’re all in this thing together,” he added.
    Growing anti-Asian hate amid COVID pandemic
    On Tuesday, 4 folks have been killed and one particular person was injured at a therapeutic massage parlor in Cherokee County.
    Shortly after, shootings additionally came about at two Atlanta therapeutic massage spas that are located throughout the road from one another, leaving 4 extra folks — all girls — lifeless.
    The police charged a 21-year-old white man for the capturing.
    The suspect, Robert Aaron Long, has admitted to the shootings, however he maintains they weren’t racially motivated.
    He claimed to have a “sex addiction,” with authorities saying he was triggered by what he noticed as sources of temptation.
    However, lawmakers and anti-racism activists have mentioned that anti-Asian bias might have been a part of the motivation.
    The killings come at a time of rising anti-Asian hate within the nation.
    Community leaders have attributed the hate to Asian-Americans being blamed for the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Satya Nadella, US lawmakers appalled by the continued acts of hate in opposition to Asian Americans

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and several other US lawmakers have stated that they’re appalled by the continued acts of hate in opposition to Asian Americans and condemned hate, racial discrimination and violence in all kinds.
    More than 3,000 incidents of abuse in opposition to Asian Americans have been reported between March and December 2020, in line with Asian American advocacy teams. There have been solely 216 reported circumstances in 2019, in line with FBI statistics.
    “I am appalled by the ongoing acts of hate against Asian Americans and the Asian community globally. Racism, hate and violence have no place in our society. I am united with the Asian and Asian American community in standing against this injustice,” Nadella stated in a tweet, a day after US President Joe Biden stated that the ‘vicious’ hate crimes in opposition to Asian Americans within the nation amidst the pandemic was ‘un-American’ and it should cease.
    Denouncing ‘violent’ assaults on the Asian Americans, Biden in his first prime-time handle to the nation since assuming workplace in January, stated that members of the group have been harassed, blamed and scapegoated.
    In a press release, Microsoft stated that it condemns hate, racial discrimination, and violence in all kinds.
    Meanwhile, distinguished lawmakers have joined arms to introduce a laws to handle the rise of hate crimes and violence in opposition to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Congressman Donald M. Payne, expressed concern over a rise in racist assaults in opposition to Asian Americans in the course of the COVID-19 international pandemic.
    “I want to condemn the abuse and assault that has happened to Asian Americans during his pandemic in the strongest words possible,” Payne stated.
    “Hate and violence have no place in America at all. These attacks must stop because they are cowardly attempts to scapegoat and blame Americans for a pandemic that started thousands of miles away. Thankfully, we have a president who supports diversity and will protect all Americans in his language and his actions. It is time for us to come together as a country and that includes all Americans,” he stated.
    Senator Dianne Feinstein stated that over the previous few weeks, nominees for the highest three management positions on the Justice Department have appeared earlier than the Senate Judiciary Committee, as has the director of the FBI.
    “At each hearing the topic of hate crimes came up, in large part due to steep increases in attacks against Asian Americans,” she stated.
    “The increase appears to be based on a fabricated connection between the Asian-American community and the COVID pandemic, a conspiracy theory with no basis in fact that is pure racism. We must rebut the conspiracy theory itself and also directly confront the rise in hate crimes,” Feinstein stated.
    Senator Alex Padilla, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senator Mazie Hirono and Congressmen Grace Meng in introducing laws to handle the rise of hate crimes and violence in opposition to AAPI communities in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    “I am disturbed by the recent increase in hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California and across the country,” Padilla stated.
    “It is clear that this uptick in violence against Asian Americans is the direct result of the racist rhetoric used by political leaders with regard to the pandemic and we must take action to address it. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act will direct law enforcement to better collaborate across jurisdictions and expedite the response to COVID-19 related hate crimes, and will work to mitigate racially discriminatory language used to describe the pandemic,” he stated.
    The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act would direct the US Attorney General to designate an official whose sole accountability will likely be to expedite evaluate of COVID-19 hate crimes from federal, state, and native legislation enforcement businesses. The laws additionally directs the Attorney General to challenge steerage to state and native legislation enforcement businesses on acceptable public schooling campaigns and the gathering of information on COVID-19 hate crimes.

    The ongoing anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, particularly in opposition to our aged Asian Americans, is totally horrific, stated Congresswoman Meng. “Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been nearly 3,000 reported incidents of physical, verbal, and online attacks against Asian Americans,” she stated.
    Acting US Attorney Tessa M Gorman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald M. Voiret stated that at present federal prosecutors and the FBI are reviewing two circumstances involving assaults on Asian-American neighbours which were charged by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

    “These crimes, and other acts of hate and bias, have no place in our community. I urge members of our community to report hate-based crimes to either local or federal law enforcement and to contact our office’s civil rights line with information about discrimination in areas like housing, employment, education, or public accommodations,” Gorman stated.

  • Satya Nadella, US lawmakers appalled by the continued acts of hate towards Asian Americans

    Image Source : PTI Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and several other US lawmakers have mentioned that they’re appalled by the continued acts of hate towards Asian Americans and condemned hate, racial discrimination, and violence in all types. More than 3,000 incidents of abuse towards Asian Americans had been reported between March and December 2020, in line with Asian American advocacy teams. There had been solely 216 reported instances in 2019, in line with FBI statistics.
    “I am appalled by the ongoing acts of hate against Asian Americans and the Asian community globally. Racism, hate, and violence have no place in our society. I am united with the Asian and Asian American community in standing against this injustice,” Nadella mentioned in a tweet, a day after US President Joe Biden mentioned that the ‘vicious’ hate crimes towards Asian Americans within the nation amidst the pandemic was ‘un-American’ and it should cease.
    Denouncing ‘violent’ assaults on the Asian Americans, Biden in his first prime-time handle to the nation since assuming workplace in January, mentioned that members of the group had been harassed, blamed and scapegoated.
    In a press release, Microsoft mentioned that it condemns hate, racial discrimination, and violence in all types.
    Meanwhile, outstanding lawmakers have joined fingers to introduce a laws to handle the rise of hate crimes and violence towards Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Congressman Donald M. Payne, expressed concern over a rise in racist assaults towards Asian Americans throughout the COVID-19 world pandemic.
    “I want to condemn the abuse and assault that has happened to Asian Americans during his pandemic in the strongest words possible,” Payne mentioned.
    “Hate and violence have no place in America at all. These attacks must stop because they are cowardly attempts to scapegoat and blame Americans for a pandemic that started thousands of miles away. Thankfully, we have a president who supports diversity and will protect all Americans in his language and his actions. It is time for us to come together as a country and that includes all Americans,” he mentioned.
    Senator Dianne Feinstein mentioned that over the previous few weeks, nominees for the highest three management positions on the Justice Department have appeared earlier than the Senate Judiciary Committee, as has the director of the FBI.

    “At each hearing the topic of hate crimes came up, in large part due to steep increases in attacks against Asian Americans,” she mentioned.
    “The increase appears to be based on a fabricated connection between the Asian-American community and the COVID pandemic, a conspiracy theory with no basis in fact that is pure racism. We must rebut the conspiracy theory itself and also directly confront the rise in hate crimes,” Feinstein mentioned.
    Senator Alex Padilla, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Senator Mazie Hirono and Congressmen Grace Meng in introducing laws to handle the rise of hate crimes and violence towards AAPI communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
    “I am disturbed by the recent increase in hate crimes and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California and across the country,” Padilla mentioned.
    “It is clear that this uptick in violence against Asian Americans is the direct result of the racist rhetoric used by political leaders with regard to the pandemic and we must take action to address it. The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act will direct law enforcement to better collaborate across jurisdictions and expedite the response to COVID-19 related hate crimes, and will work to mitigate racially discriminatory language used to describe the pandemic,” he mentioned.
    The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act would direct the US Attorney General to designate an official whose sole accountability can be to expedite overview of COVID-19 hate crimes from federal, state, and native legislation enforcement businesses. The laws additionally directs the Attorney General to situation steering to state and native legislation enforcement businesses on acceptable public training campaigns and the gathering of knowledge on COVID-19 hate crimes.
    The ongoing anti-Asian hate crimes and incidents, particularly towards our aged Asian Americans, is totally horrific, mentioned Congresswoman Meng. “Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been nearly 3,000 reported incidents of physical, verbal, and online attacks against Asian Americans,” she mentioned.
    Acting US Attorney Tessa M Gorman and FBI Special Agent in Charge Donald M. Voiret mentioned that presently federal prosecutors and the FBI are reviewing two instances involving assaults on Asian-American neighbours which have been charged by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
    “These crimes, and other acts of hate and bias, have no place in our community. I urge members of our community to report hate-based crimes to either local or federal law enforcement and to contact our office’s civil rights line with information about discrimination in areas like housing, employment, education, or public accommodations,” Gorman mentioned.
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