Rally participants gathered in the rain in Bellevue on March 20. (Photo by George Liu)
Organizers said thousands rallied in Bellevue on March 20 against anti-Asian hate crimes. United Chinese Americans of Washington (UCAWA) organized the event, which was co-sponsored by the Huazhong University of Science and Technology Alumni Association of Seattle (HUSTAA), Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Ethnic Chamber of Commerce Coalition, Seattle Chinese American Alliance, Korean American Chamber of Commerce in Washington State, American Jewish Committee, Amazon Chinese American Association, Washington Association of Chinese American Physicians, Seattle Lang Group, and several other organizations.
“We demand that the federal government, local law enforcement agencies, and community leaders take immediate action to address the surge in anti-Asian crimes and ensure the safety of Asian Americans and businesses,” said Winston Lee, president of UCAWA.
Still, a spokesperson for the organizers, Y.P. Chan, added that racism is tied to economic inequality. Chan first experienced discrimination from the more affluent people of Hong Kong when he arrived there decades ago as a poor immigrant from China.
“But the question now is, what does the U.S. as a society need to do to address the issues of racism, economic and social equity for all races and genders? At the same time, what are Asians doing to protect our lives and rights when real structural change will be very slow or non-existing in the future?”