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| People take part in a protest against anti-Asian hate crimes in San Mateo, Calif., Feb. 27. Xinhua-Yonhap |
Korean American congresswoman leading resolution to condemn racist hate crimes
By Bahk Eun-ji
Asian American communities in the United States are living in a heightened state of anxiety as hate-fueled attacks against them have soared since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is believed to have originated in China.
Reports of assaults have been growing lately, including ones against Korean Americans, and a bipartisan move has been made to condemn such attacks as racist hate crimes.
According to U.S. media, a Korean American man in his 20s was attacked by two men when he was walking down a Koreatown street, Feb. 16. The man, Denny Kim, said the two men used hateful and racist language such as "Chinese virus" and assaulted him, pushing him to the ground. He suffered a broken nose and a black eye.
After the incident, the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles posted a notice on its website, Feb. 25, urging people to pay extra attention to guard against such attacks.
"The LA Police Department also took the incident as a hate crime or criminal threat and are investigating this," the Korean Consulate General wrote in the posting. "Such hate crimes have been constantly taking place since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak here."
It urged Korean Americans as well as Koreans visiting the city to pay attention to safety and call 911 in the case of any racist physical or verbal attacks.
At the end of January, an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand was attacked on a street in San Francisco and died a few days later. A 19-year-old man who assaulted him was arrested on suspicion of murder and elderly abuse ― but the victim's family called the attack a hate crime against the Asian community.
On Feb.16, three assault cases that are believed to have targeted Asian women took place in New York City in one day alone.
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| Korean American Republican congresswoman Michelle Park Steel / Korea Times file |
"Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a dramatic increase in hate crimes and violence against AAPI. This includes 2,808 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian and Pacific Islander hate crimes from 47 states and the District of Columbia between March 19, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020. California accounts for 43 percent of these incidents," Steel said in a recent written interview with The Korea Times.
"A big problem is many of these incidents are unreported. It's important that those who commit these types of crimes and harassment know that they will be fully prosecuted and held responsible for their actions."
Steel, together with Rep. Katie Porter, a Democratic congresswoman from California, introduced a bipartisan resolution condemning hate crimes committed against AAPI in the U.S. House of Representatives, Feb. 23.
"We have a responsibility to stand up for our constituents and our communities. As a congresswoman I plan to advocate on behalf of the AAPI community, so they know they have a voice in Washington for them. Americans from coast to coast are saddened by these hate crimes and the continued harassment that our Asian American neighbors have faced. We can work together to make sure this stops."
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| People take part in a rally against anti-Asian hate crimes in San Mateo, Calif., Feb. 27. Xinhua-Yonhap |
Rep. Steel said the resolution "condemns all manifestations of expressions of racism and anti-Asian and Pacific Islander or ethnic intolerance" and encourages federal and local law enforcement to work together to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable and bring them to justice.
"I will continue working with my Democratic and Republican colleagues to bring attention to this issue. The resolution is still gaining support and I will urge the House leadership to bring this to a vote on the House Floor soon," she said.
