China News Agency, San Francisco, June 2 Question: Chinese in the San Francisco Bay Area: No one wants to live in anxiety
China News Service reporter Liu Guanguan
The "Stop Hate Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Action" jointly established by the Asia-Pacific Policy and Planning Commission, the American Association for the Promotion of Chinese Rights and the Asian American Research Center of San Francisco State University has been received Nearly 2000 reports of discrimination against new coronaviruses. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that according to this statistic, approximately 40% of incidents occurred in California. Nearly half of this occurred in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ms. Zhu, who lives in San Francisco, was insulted by a white man while waiting for the green light to cross the street. Later, the saliva fell on her face and clothes.
"(At that moment) the emotions are very complicated, there is no fear, there will be a little overwhelmed." Ms. Zhu said, "This virus is not our fault, why should they look like this?"
Ms. Zhu was interviewed by many media and spoke actively. "I want to help others, and want to make a positive change to the world."
Greetings from strangers and friends made Ms. Zhu feel warm. Many people told her that thanks for her voice, she made people aware of the existence of this kind of discrimination, "everyone should be united." These greetings gave her a sense of belonging.
In an interview with the TV station, Ms. Zhu said: "Don't let such things affect your emotions. I hope that positive energy can be passed on. Such things should not happen to anyone."
Russell Jeung, who manages the "Stop Hating Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders" database, is a professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University. He found that in many cases, the parties were "willfully coughed and spit." Therefore, he added this category to the database.
However, in the case of discrimination suffered by Asians, language attacks are more common. At the same time, the number of female harassment cases is twice that of males.
Ms. Luo was harassed and abused by a female homeless while walking her dog on the beach in San Francisco. Ms. Luo recorded the video and placed it on social networks.
In the video, after Ms. Luo avoided it, the woman continued to struggle and became more and more excited. Someone at the scene tried to stop her from further harassing Ms. Luo. The homeless shouted: "We don't welcome you here. That's why we elected Trump. You stole money from this country."
Ms. Luo then called the police. She said on social media: "Now, the world is crazier than ever. If you see such harassment, please lend a helping hand. Thank you very much for these kind people who helped me."
Ms. Li, who lives in Silicon Valley, also wrote about her experience on social networks. At the checkout in the supermarket, because the customer behind did not observe the "social distance", Ms. Li politely reminded the other party, but the cashier said: "You are really interesting. You came from China. You brought the virus."
Subsequently, the cashier's attitude was even worse. She also shouted to let Ms. Li "go out". According to Ms. Li's description, there were two employees in the shop and other customers who told her to leave.
The involved Oakmont Produce Market issued an apology statement on social media, saying that the employment relationship with the employee has been terminated, "her behavior and ignorance do not represent our supermarket." Under the apology statement, many Asian netizens left a message saying that the supermarket’s apology was ambiguous and did not indicate the store’s attitude toward discrimination, but attributed the fault to an employee.
In the early days of the outbreak, residents in the San Francisco Bay Area were not required to wear masks, and many Asians were treated impolitely because they wore masks. When Ms. Han, who is engaged in the advertising industry in the Bay Area, wears a mask while queuing in a pharmacy, a white woman said to her: "If you are not sick, don't wear a mask."
Her experience and other news that discriminated against Asians gave her the idea of returning to work in China. Ms. Han said, "This is a very simple truth. No one wants to live in anxiety all day."
In the reporter's interview, many young Chinese expressed similar ideas. Some people have started to ask friends in China if there is a suitable job opportunity.
Mr. Lin, who works as a real estate agent, said that his entire family has immigrated to the United States for many years. His career, contacts and insurance are all in the United States. Living in a different country is "a huge project and unlikely." He said: "You can only be careful everywhere, don't argue with others, and hope to get through the difficulties ahead."
Because of the continuous video of attacking Asian Americans, San Francisco Chinese Max Leung initiated the formation of a patrol to protect Chinatown. He said: "I grew up in San Francisco. Xenophobia, prejudice, discrimination, racism, bullying and violence have always been persistent problems suffered by Asian communities." The volunteers in the organization are mainly from veterans. Leung expressed his belief that the team can bring some security to the community in the next few years.
As the states of the United States have restarted their economies, Professor Russell Jeung is concerned that incidents of discrimination against Asians may increase after the "Home Order" ends. (Finish)