Anti-Asia rhetoric still fueling hate

The number of anti-Asian hate incidents continues to increase across the United States, with more physical assaults reported this year, according to a report released on Thursday that blames anti-China rhetoric and policies.

Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition that became the authority on gathering data on racially motivated attacks related to the pandemic, received 9,081 incident reports between March 2020 and June 2021. Of those, 4,548 occurred last year, and 4,533 this year. Since the pandemic began, people of Asian and Pacific Islander descent have been treated as scapegoats solely based on their race.

While verbal harassment and shunning declined this year, physical assaults, vandalism and online hate incidents have all increased, according to the report. The data also shows more incidents had occurred on public streets and in public transit, and more seniors reporting incidents.

Lawmakers, activists and community groups have pushed back against the wave of attacks. There have been countless social media campaigns, bystander training sessions and public rallies. In May, US President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, expediting Justice Department reviews of anti-Asian hate crimes and making federal grants available. Stop AAPI Hate leaders said supporters should not feel discouraged because the data has not shifted much.

Legitimate concerns

"When you encourage hate, it's not like a genie in a bottle where you can pull it out and push it back in whenever you want," said Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and executive director of the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council. "There's too much perpetuating these belief systems to make them go away."

Asian American and Pacific Islander activists are concerned that potentially legitimizing conspiracy theories about China's involvement in the pandemic will catalyze a new surge of hate, racism and discrimination against the AAPI community.

Of the 9,081 incidents in the report, 48.1 percent included at least one hateful statement against China or immigrants.

An analysis of the hateful language reveals five different themes: Scapegoating of China, racial slurs, anti-immigrant nativism, orientalist depictions such as Asians' perceived cultural exoticism, and red-baiting.

The report suggests that US-Asian relations have a racial impact on Asian Americans, such as the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and the Islamophobia faced by South Asians after the Sept 11 attacks in 2001.

"The United States' relationship with China has long influenced how Chinese Americans, as well as others of Asian and Pacific Islander descent, are treated throughout the nation," said Cynthia Choi, another co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate.

"When the US vilifies China with words and policy, our data shows it endangers the lives of the AAPI community," Choi said.

Agencies via Xinhua contributed to this story.