On May 18, local time, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 364 to 62 to pass a bill aimed at curbing hate crimes against Asians. The bill will be signed by President Biden.
The US Senate passed the bill with an overwhelming vote in April.
After being passed by the House of Representatives, the bill will be immediately delivered to President Biden's desk.
According to reports, this is a rare bill that has received cross-party support, but the 62 votes against it all came from Republicans.
The Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act will require the Ministry of Justice to accelerate the review of hate crimes related to the epidemic, establish an online database of such incidents, and seek to provide more support to local law enforcement agencies in combating hate crimes .
In addition to protecting Asian Americans, the bill also protects Pacific Islander communities.
There are reports that since the beginning of the epidemic, there has been a surge of discrimination and violent crimes against Asians.
A California State University San Bernardino study of 16 major U.S. cities found that in the first quarter of 2021, hate crimes against Asians increased by 164%.
(Producing Le Xiaomin)
Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]