China Overseas Chinese Network, April 29 (BBC) Chinese website reported that as early as the end of February, the new coronary pneumonia epidemic began to spread in the United States. Associate professor of Boston University School of Engineering, Chinese American Wang Hua led Lake The Chinese Association of Xingdun Town carried out protective education for the community.

　　As an adjunct professor at Wuhan Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wang Hua claimed to be "half of Wuhan people". When the epidemic in Wuhan was severe, he actively assisted Wuhan; when the virus spread in the United States, he led a team to initiate fundraising and purchase medical supplies from China to the United States.

　　As of April 24, the team led by Wang Hua raised about US $ 107,000 and donated 52 hospitals and clinics, 34 nursing homes and 16 government agencies and community units, donating a total of about 107,000 medical supplies.

　　"When all the hospitals started asking for help from the society, we were very shocked." Wang Hua said. He came to the United States to study in his early years, and later settled in the historic town of Lexington near Boston. This is the place where the "first shot" of the American War of Independence, the per capita level of education is higher than that of the United States, and currently nearly 30% of the population is Asian.

　　Near Boston, there is a group of international students like Wang Hua who have stayed after completing their master's or doctorate degrees. For more than 20 years, they have worked hard and made money to support their families, like many hard-working Chinese immigrants. It was not until the last decade that these elite students of that year began to step out of the Chinese circle and move closer to the mainstream society.

A mask supply chain brings together 50 groups

　　Wang Hua's team is part of the local Chinese group WeStar Alliance. WeStar was established a year ago to organize the Spring Festival Gala, bringing together more than 50 groups, including various hometown associations, alumni associations, interest groups, cultural centers, and Chinese schools.

　　The members of each group range from tens to hundreds of people. This sudden outbreak caused them to condense and form an alliance, and were divided into medical groups, education groups, anti-discrimination groups, and public relations according to their areas of expertise Groups, support for Chinese enterprise groups and other groups.

　　In assisting the American community, the WeStar Alliance also established a "Qualification Verification Team" to screen the source of the goods and identify the quality of the masks according to the certification standards of the two countries. "We go directly to the official agency to verify. China's domestic inspection of the National Drug Agency, the United States to check the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) and CDC (United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)." Wang Hua said that this group almost 24 hours to cope with jet lag In operation, the daily work is “heavy and tedious”.

　　The entire alliance has docked more than 200 Chinese factories and mask contractors. Screened to 30, and finally finalized 6 sources. As of now, the WeStar Alliance has raised a total of approximately US $ 260,000 in donations and donated 206,000 pieces of medical supplies to 68 hospitals and clinics, 50 nursing homes, and 33 government agencies and community units.

"Sword" of community leaders

　　Wang Hua was helped by a well-known Chinese mathematician living in the area, a retired professor at Harvard University, Yu-Chi Ho, and his wife Sophia Ho. In 2011, he formed a community group with more than a dozen immigrants from China , Began to participate in local community building. According to his words, "Since then, it has been out of control."

　　Build a Chinese library, organize historical and cultural lectures, help Chinese people participate in community elections, and also served as the original Democratic presidential candidate and Asian American Yang Yang (Andrew Yang) fan group "Yang Gang" in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in 2018 "Help the Lord", Wang Hua became the leading person in the town to organize communities and participate in politics.

　　On February 12, 2020, Yang Anze withdrew, and Wang Hua sent a message in the circle of friends: "Andrew, we are proud of you!" He believes that from an unknown pawn to a presidential candidate, Yang Anze's courage and persistence have Proving that Asians have the ability to lead the society, Wang Hua also extended this spirit to this aid operation.

　　In Wang Hua's view, the cohesion of Chinese groups is a process of casting "shields and arrows". "Shield" means cultivating in the community, and "Sword" speaks for yourself. He likens this aid to American society to a "sword", and the purpose of the sword "is not only to protect the epidemic, but also to fight stigmatization and discrimination."

Opportunities to fight discrimination

　　Since the outbreak, the voice of discrimination against Asians in American society has been exposed. The FBI also warned that hatred and discrimination against Asian Americans may rise rapidly.

　　As the former co-chairman of the Chinese Association in Acton, Massachusetts, 57-year-old Chinese-American Wang Xiaodong led the team to raise funds to fight against the epidemic and organize donations in mid-March. Up to now, the Acton Chinese Association and Acton Chinese School have raised a total of 8,000 US dollars in donations. They have purchased 16,000 masks and other protective materials from China and donated them to 5 hospitals and clinics, as well as the fire station and post office , Nursing homes and supermarkets.

　　"We can get a mask. This is a God-given opportunity for Chinese Americans to give back to the American society with love and enthusiasm, to become a part of society, and to improve and establish our image." Wang Xiaodong said. She graduated from Tsinghua University in the 1990s and studied in the United States, and later worked in a large multinational technology company.

Laying the foundation for civil society

　　Janelle Wong, a professor in the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of Maryland, also said, "In the process of organizing assistance to local communities, Chinese Americans have laid the foundation for future participation in civil society, and are expected to bring resources to increase social mobilization and attention."

　　In the United States, Asian Americans are the fastest-growing minority ethnic group, of which ethnic Chinese account for about a quarter. As of 2017, the Chinese population exceeds 5 million. But among voters of all races and ethnicities in the United States, the participation of Chinese Americans is the lowest.

　　The WeStar alliance recently also had the idea of ​​"going out of the Chinese community". On April 23, the core members of the Alliance held a meeting to discuss whether to establish a board of directors, how to write the charter, whether to officially register and join the electoral college after the outbreak.

　　However, to gain greater recognition in American society, the challenges ahead are still challenging, and the road to resist racism is more difficult. Josephine Park, a professor in the English Department of the College of Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, said that the current positive actions taken by Chinese Americans serve more of their own communities. "

　　Professor Russell Jeung, who studies Asian Americans at San Francisco State University, said that the Chinese community has become more cohesive due to the common culture and racist problems facing them. But historically, citizens' participation and contribution to society have not reduced racism against Asian Americans or other minorities. "This is deeply ingrained in society," he emphasized.