Hate crimes against Asian Americans are on the rise. Here's what activists, lawmakers and police are doing to stop the violence

Asian Americans have been victims of increased violence and harassment since the coronavirus pandemic began, but recent attacks have prompted some to "hunker down" again.

The coronavirus pandemic had been spreading in the United States for a month, and Asian American community groups were warning of a disconcerting surge of hateful and racist language directed toward them, tied to the virus’ origins in China.

Asian Americans have been victims of increased violence and harassment since the coronavirus pandemic began, but recent attacks have prompted some to take extra precautions. (Photo: Getty).

Asian Americans across the United States are reporting a significant increase in hate crimes, harassment and discrimination tied to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has especially “struck a nerve” for the Asian American community, which has forced many to realize that simple discrimination can turn violent, said Democratic Rep.

In January, President Joe Biden issued an executive order condemning the attacks — and without naming them, criticizing former President Donald Trump and other federal officials who repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as the “China virus” or the “Kung flu.” The order calls for better data collection about hateful incidents, and mandates federal agencies to fight “racism, xenophobia, and intolerance” directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAPI.

“Such statements have stoked unfounded fears and perpetuated stigma about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and have contributed to increasing rates of bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against AAPI persons.”.

And this week, a 36-year old Asian man in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood was stabbed and taken to the hospital in critical condition. The suspect in that assault faces charges that include attempted murder as a hate crime and assault as a hate crime, among other charges, the New York Police Department said.

The surge in hate incidents against the Asian American community since the start of the pandemic was set aflame last winter when Trump began scapegoating Chinese people for the explosion of coronavirus in the United States.

“It gave a lot of people permission (to act on) their prejudice,” said Mabel Menard, president of OCA Chicago, a chapter of OCA, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for civil rights of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Amid an increase in bias incidents, the mayor of New York City warned people against committing hate crimes aginast the Asian community and said the NYPD was stepping up patrols in the subways to combat the problem.

The San Francisco-based group Stop AAPI Hate, which tracks anti-Asian American and Pacific Islander attacks, and other community groups, such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice based in Washington D.C., have collectively recorded more than 3,000 anti-Asian attacks nationwide since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic exploded onto U.S.

That’s compared to about 100 such incidents that community trackers have recorded annually in the years prior, said Cynthia Choi, 54, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate.

The coronavirus first seen in China is now ravaging the United States, and Asian Americans are continuing to wrestle with a second epidemic: hate.

More recently, a series of high-profile incidents captured on video by bystanders helped bring fresh awareness to hateful attacks on Asian Americans, including the 84-year-old Thai American man’s death, which went viral on social media.

Esther Song tears up as she attends a community rally to raise awareness about anti-Asian violence and racist attitudes, in response to the string of violent racist attacks against Asians during the pandemic, held at Los Angeles Historic Park near the Chinatown district in Los Angeles, Saturday, Feb.

New York state Attorney General Letitia James launched a hotline for victims to report harassment or intimidation, and on Monday, California allocated $1.4 million to track anti-Asian bias and hate crimes through the Stop AAPI Hate tracking group.

In Houston, police have seen little evidence of an increase in hate crimes directed at Asian Americans, said Lt.

Asian Americans have long faced discrimination and hate crimes in the United States, including the Chinese Exclusion Act, which in 1882 banned Chinese immigrants from entering the country.

A man holds a portrait of late Vichar Ratanapakdee, left, an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand, who was violently shoved to the ground in a deadly attack in San Francisco, during a community rally to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence and racist attitudes, in response to the string of violent racist attacks against Asians during the pandemic, held at Los Angeles Historic Park near the Chinatown district in Los Angeles, Saturday, Feb.

In addition to federally sanctioned discrimination, the Asian American community has long suffered hate crimes that remain bitterly remembered, including attacks by members ofthe white supremacist groupOrder of Caucasians, who murdered four Chinese men — tying them up and dousing them with kerosene to burn them to death — in the early 1800s in Chico, California.

More recently, the brutal 1982 baseball-bat murder of Chinese American autoworker Vincent Chin by two white autoworkers in Detroit who were allegedly upset about competition from Japanese automakers prompted the creation of the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice, which now has chapters nationally.

And for years, the stereotype of an Asian carrying cash, resulted in Asian Americans being targeted for robberies and carjackings, which by and large aren't categorized as hate crimes despite its racial element, said Debbie Chen, OCA’s executive vice president and a civil engagement programs director for the greater Houston chapter. .

Today, Asian American leaders are urging their community to report any incidents, even those that might not meet the bar for prosecution, and regardless of personal embarrassment or lack of details, such as the perpetrator’s identity.

National Library of Medicine, Asian Americans have a relatively higher chance than Blacks or Latinos to experience hate crimes perpetrated by non-white offenders

The report found that despite hate crimes against Asian Americans being on the rise, studies rarely look at such incidents

“The outrage, the decrying of these recent incidents, is because of centuries of invisibility, of feeling like the history of anti-Asian racism is not known, that what happens to our community is minimized, is overlooked,” said Choi, ofStop AAPI Hate

Compounding the challenge, the Asian American community is not monolithic

Shieh, of Asian Americans Advancing Justice of Chicago, said it’s often hard to persuade victims of racial harassment or hate crimes to come to police because they speak a language other than English, or worry about their immigration status