WASHINGTON — In Chinatowns from Boston to San Francisco, restaurants and markets saw their business dwindle last winter well before any coronavirus cases had surfaced in the United States because of false claims that Asians spread the virus. Then, as the pandemic struck the nation, the dirty looks, insults, and innuendos gave way to assaults and beatings.
For Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, the outbreak has another dimension that can’t be stopped by social distancing and personal protective equipment.
“We are not a virus,” said Vanna Howard, a candidate for Massachusetts state representative and a member of the state Asian American Commission. “We are human beings.”
Now, as President Trump and Republicans blame China for the coronavirus outbreak, Asian-American leaders and political groups are scaling up efforts to push back against a rising tide of anti-Chinese sentiment they said hurts all people of Asian-Pacific descent.
They’re also urging presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden not to do his own pummeling of China in responding to political attacks that he has been soft on the country. That means he will have to tread carefully to avoid alienating Asian-American voters, a fast-growing slice of the electorate that increasingly leans Democratic and could be pushed further left by Trump’s China bashing.
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