“We are still reeling from the racist remarks made by L.A. city officials revealed over the weekend,” Chu said
at a news briefing outside the Chinese American Museum. “It’s never been more critical for our leaders in this city to do everything they can to unite us, not tear us apart.”
A report released this week by Stop AAPI Hate found that perpetrators of hate incidents against Asians often repeat the rhetoric they hear from political candidates and elected officials who single out China as responsible for the pandemic, economic issues or natural security concerns. After former President Donald Trump blamed China for the pandemic by referring to COVID-19 as the “China virus” or “kung-flu,” more than 2,000 incidents used similar language, according to the group’s research.
“These top elected officials were able to use such racist words so freely,” Chu said. “What does this say about permission that regular people have to use ugly, racist terminology that really hurts and blames others, and to spread stereotypes that are not true?” In the tape, the officials discussed how they could redistrict Koreatown, an ethnically diverse neighborhood that is half Latino and over a third Asian. Martinez described Oaxacan immigrants in Koreatown as “short dark people.” She added “tan feos,” Spanish for “They’re ugly.”
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