U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris in Wilmington, Delaware.
Leah Millis | Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday responded to a recent increase in violent attacks on Asian Americans.
“We must continue to commit ourselves to combating racism and discrimination,” Harris said on Twitter.
Videos of recent attacks on older Asian Americans in the Bay Area of California have been circulating on social media over the past week.
One video showed a 91-year-old man being pushed from behind and ending up with his face on the street in the Chinatown neighborhood of Oakland, Harris’ hometown.
Another video showed 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee being violently pushed to the ground in San Francisco. He later died, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Harris’ comments come about the new lunar year, as the Covid pandemic and fears of violence dampened the celebrations.
Other politicians have taken note of the matter.
“Especially in the days before the 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 cold effect on our community,” said Judy Chu, D. California, chairman of the Congress-Asian Pacific-American caucus, said in a statement Thursday.
Hate incidents and violence against Asian Americans increased during the Covid pandemic. Lawyers say anti-Asian sentiments have been fueled by the actions of leaders such as former President Donald Trump, who constantly referred to the coronavirus in terms such as ‘Chinese virus’ and ‘Kung flu’.
‘Across the country, there have been more than 2,500 reports of anti-Asian hate incidents related to COVID-19 between March and September 2020’, a recent study by the Asian American Bar Association of New York and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP found.
“And this number underestimates the actual number of anti-Asian hate incidents because most incidents are not reported,” the study said.
Press Secretary Jen Psaki asked at a White House briefing Monday about President Joe Biden’s response to the recent violent attacks on Asian Americans.
“He was outspoken and made it clear that attacks – verbal attacks, any attacks of any form – are unacceptable and we must work together to address them,” Psaki said.
On January 26, Biden signed an executive order targeting xenophobia against Asian Americans.
“We appreciate President Biden’s executive order for greater protection for the [Asian and Pacific Islander] community because of racism and xenophobia linked to the pandemic, and we thank those who show solidarity with the API community, ‘the California-based Asian Pacific Islander legislative caucus said in a statement on Thursday.
“But it is not enough to simply deny racism, xenophobia and violence. We must pay attention to these injustices and protect each other,” the caucus said.