US Vice President, Kamala Harris, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Leah Millis | Reuters
Vice President Kamala Harris responded on Friday to a recent wave of violent attacks against Asian Americans.
“We must continue to commit to fighting racism and discrimination,” said Harris on Twitter.
Videos of recent attacks on older Asian Americans in the California bay area spread through social media last week.
A video showed a 91-year-old man being pushed from behind and falling face down the street in the Chinatown neighborhood of Oakland, Harris’s hometown.
Another video showed 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee violently thrown to the ground in San Francisco. He died later, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
Harris’ comments were in the Lunar New Year, when the Covid pandemic and fear of violence dampened the holiday festivities.
Other politicians noted the problem.
“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 frightening effect on our community,” Rep. Judy Chu, D- California , president of Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said in a statement on Thursday.
Hate incidents and violence against Asian Americans increased during the Covid pandemic. Supporters say anti-Asian sentiments were fueled by the actions of leaders like former President Donald Trump, who continually referred to the coronavirus in terms like “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 recent study by the Asian American Bar Association of New York and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP found.
“And this figure underestimates the actual number of anti-Asian hate incidents because most incidents are not reported,” said the study.
When asked at a White House briefing on Monday about President Joe Biden’s response to the recent violent attacks against Americans of Asian origin, press secretary Jen Psaki said the president condemns discrimination against Asian Americans.
“He was blunt and made it clear that the attacks – verbal attacks, any attacks in any form – are unacceptable and we need to work together to tackle them,” said Psaki.
Biden signed an executive order on January 26 aimed at xenophobia against Asian Americans.
“We appreciate President Biden’s executive order calling for greater protections for [Asian and Pacific Islander] community as a result of racism and pandemic-related xenophobia, and we thank those who sympathize with the API community, “said the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus of California in a statement on Thursday.
“But it is not enough to simply repudiate racism, xenophobia and violence. We must call attention to these injustices and protect each other ”, said the caucus.