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Police Seek Man Who Yelled Anti-Chinese Remarks, Threw Bike At Asians In Flatiron
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 4, 2020
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Jen Chung
Published Sep 4, 2020
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A person riding a bicycle reportedly yelled, "You are Chinese, God hates China, China has virus," at an Asian couple before attacking one of them with the bicycle on Wednesday night in Manhattan.
The police are looking for the suspect, who apparently biked by the couple around 8:30 p.m. on September 2nd, in front of 893 Broadway, before making the remarks and then allegedly assaulting the 29-year-old man with the bicycle and a backpack.
The suspect, who fled, was described as being in his 30s, around 5'8" to 5'11" and 230 pounds with shoulder-length braids, last seen wearing a white tank top and black pants. The victim suffered minor injuries.
The crime took place on the day the NYPD reported that there have been three anti-Asian hate crimes and 22 "coronavirus" related hate crimes in 2020 so far.
"Recent Coronavirus-related incidents fall under the anti-other category as there are primarily two motivating factors behind those crimes: The victim’s race (Anti-Asian) and the perception that they have Coronavirus," the department said in a press release.
Since the start of the pandemic, discrimination against Asians has increased in New York City, in America, and across the world. The incidents have ranged from verbal abuse to acts of violence: an 89-year-old Chinese woman was set on fire in Brooklyn. The uptick in racist incidents began early in the year, and NYC's own Human Rights Commission formed a COVID-19 team after anti-Asian incidents increased in April. Last month, the NYPD announced they were forming an anti-Asian hate crime task force.
President Donald Trump has made sure to keep China and "Chinese" as descriptors for the coronavirus in his various press conferences, rallies, and interviews. He called it "kung flu" during a rally in Arizona, as well as his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, fomenting racist and xenophobia sentiment towards Asians. It's even trickled throughout the Republican party, from Republican House minority leader Kevin McCarthy calling COVID-19 the "Chinese coronavirus" to a Virginia House candidate selling masks that say "COVID-19 / Made in China."
The Republican National Congressional Committee is even trying to raise money off anti-Chinese sentiment:
There has been some pushback to the NYPD's anti-Asian hate crime task force. The Asian American Feminist Collective wrote a letter on Medium stating that "survivors of anti-Asian harassment do not cooperate with police because they are afraid of police."
"Our communities stand to face greater harm because of police... South Asian and Muslim communities continue to experience ongoing racial and religious profiling and surveillance by police. Police have also continued to harass Asian immigrant workers, including street vendors, massage parlor workers, delivery workers, and taxi drivers, through stops, raids, and fines."
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COVID-19
coronavirus
anti-asian
hate crime
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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